Chronicles From Mandalore: What It Takes
by daennika
Summary: Part 1: The Republic is now the Empire and it reaches the lives of Mandalorians on their own homeplanet. Bardan Jusik alongside new allies has to make clean slate of his past and prove his worth. A Republic Commando spin-off.
1. Chapter 1

_I want this to be some sort of epic adventure with lots of action and drama at some point. Eventually it will be really entertaining for the reader and will become a screenplay for a new motion picture. But for now it's a slowly paced, three-sided narration of character building and moral questioning. The events follow the story in _Republic Commando: Order 66_ by Karen Traviss. Needless to say that you will be spoiled if you haven't read the books. Those who don't have the time to catch up on that material will still find lots of explanations that I took care to include. Yes, that's why it's already pretty lengthy for a first fan fiction but you know what? I don't care. I'm having fun writing this._

_All recognizable characters used and mentioned are property of LucasArts, LucasFilm, and Karen Traviss and by no means am I trying to make any profit, or take any credit from this writing. _

_Note: certain chapters may contain details of gore, blood, and serious injuries that are not suited for the squeamish or weak at heart. Adult themes are suggested implicitly but never described for the sake of having a wider audience. Thanks for reading!  
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**Chronicles From Mandalore - What It Takes**

**Ord Mantell, Central Capital District, 1,324 days After Battle of Geonosis**

The handheld bleeped to life some time in the night. Runa stretched out a limp arm to pick it up.

THINGS ARE STARTING TO MOVE AROUND HERE. I NEED YOU BOTH. CONTACT ME. DAD.

She read it a couple more times before it became real in her mind. A minute ago Runa's father wasn't much but a vague, masked figure from her childhood and her brother's, Devik. It had been at least seven years since they'd seen or heard from him. The device bleeped again. An audio call, this time.

"You got it too?" It was her brother's alert voice.

"Yeah." Runa sighed. "By _contacting_ does that mean he wants to meet somewhere?"

Their father, Biran Zanim, was a mercenary. A Mandalorian mercenary to top it off. They were born and living on Ord Mantell but two decades ago their mother refused that they'd be taken away from her, so Biran left to live his own existence. As far as Runa and Devik were concerned, he was living on his ship earning his keep off smuggling and bounties. And of course they knew that he wore armor - and could shoot people if need be -, not much else.

"Well if not I'd be disappointed."

She had missed him. Devik too, without a doubt. Every family reunion had been a disaster for as long as she could remember, but she couldn't blame her mother. She didn't blame her father either, despite all the bad things she'd heard about Mandalorians and she took pride in the stories her mother told. And so, Runa's imagination filled in the gaps of all the mystery around the man walking in metal plated armor, giving them strange sticky cake, new gadgets and droids he'd fix up.

Maybe he had another wife, and other kids to look after, talk to and have a normal family life with. The thought always tore her apart. And her mother too, certainly. She never remarried, nor even looked at another man.

Runa replied later, by text. Things needed to be kept simple, business style.

WE HAVE TO MEET: WHERE AND WHEN? IT'S GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU.

Before pressing SEND she took a second to think of her job at the clinic. Only four hours before she had to wake up again and go to work. She sent her message and waited. Maybe she could call in sick for once and take some time to deal with her family. Devik would be doing the same thing.

The next reply arrived a little later than she'd liked:

REMEMBER THE FIELDS WHERE I TOOK YOU TWO FOR A HIKE? AT 0600. BRING WARM CLOTHES - IT'S THE WINTER ON MANDALORE. I MISSED YOU TOO, _AD'IKA_.

She felt excited like she was ten again, unable to focus and troubled by things she didn't know or see yet. How would she pack? Where was Mandalore? Should she tell her mother? Eventually she would have to. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it wouldn't change her mind.

The fields her father mentioned were now a vast lodging complex for building workers and you couldn't spot a bit of naked soil. Runa stood there with Devik leaning on his speeder. He wore his cold weather jacket and his field testing engineering pants. For her part she chose to bring her outdoor's outfit with rugged boots, the kind she used when playing battle tag in the woods with Devik and his co-workers.

They heard the sound of a speeder approaching. A mundane four-seats roofed vehicle that Biran stepped out of. Runa recognized the armor within a second. It seemed a bit different each time she saw it: a new belt, different weapons on the gauntlet, more dents and scratches on the plates. Devik and Runa eyed each other not really knowing what to say or do. The Mandalorian man stood in front of them, hands resting on his hips as if the children were being reprimanded.

"My, my… How you've both grown." His disembodied voice was scary despite the soft spoken words. "How about you two give your old _buir_ a hug?"

Of course Runa didn't speak Mandalorian, but the few words she heard from him were familiar and clear, the way young children absorbed everything they heard and that just made sense somehow.

Their father had grown old, too. His hair was no longer black but very grey and white on the sides. Lines marked his face deeply though his skin was pale, showing lack of sun exposure. Eyes were dark and deeply set in the orbits. Runa wondered how much sleep he was getting each day.

"You finally decided to take us away from it all," chuckled Devik. "Offering us riches and adventures?"

"Just as you wished for, _ad'ika_," he ruffled his son's hair even though he was now shorter than Devik. "Though before we leave here I want to ask you both if you're ready. No turning back, no more cozy security and lazy jobs."

Runa glared at him sideways.

"Hey now, that's the last thing you want to call us, lazy." She patted her backpack with its medical seal.

"I see you prepared wisely," he smiled. It was a sad smile. "But if you have any friends or loved ones to say goodbye to…"

Neither Devik or Runa had any relationships going on. She knew what she should've done at her age when all of her friends were having babies and settled down.

"Just tell us what it's all about."

He stood silent for a second then nodded. "Fair enough, we'll make our way out while I do so. Not to say that I'm on a hurry but let's say I'm expected for another errand."

It was the most that she'd heard him speak for as long as she could remember. They got in the speeder and listened to what their father had to say. She didn't understand how and why he was telling certain things, could not believe some parts of it. It took her minutes to take it all in.

"Why haven't you tried to tell us earlier? You could've _died_."

"_Run'ika_, I was under contract confidentiality. The _Cuy'val Dar_, as Jango called us. Dead men. On the record I'm not supposed to be walking around".

"Ten years," Devik mused. "So what are you doing now, still working for the Republic Army?"

He stopped at a space dock, it was deserted at this time of the morning. Runa looked out the windows to see where his ship was.

"Not exactly the Republic." Biran threw a credit chip down a gate-locker before taking the speeder down the landing pads. "I got transferred to Centax 2 for another one of those training assignments. Different troops, and different objectives." He paused. Runa now saw the ship: an imposing Pursuer class starfighter with its hull painted dark grey. "I'm getting too old for that _shabla_ business. So with some of the other 'dead men' we decided to take our retirement money and bail out."

He got off the speeder and took their luggage in each hand. It was a disarming sight. They followed him passively up the boarding ramp.

"You'll like it over there," he continued in a cheerful tone. "Big empty spaces, fresh air and great food. Of course lots of armored, deadly, handsome gentlemen to be seen." He turned his black T-visor to Runa. She actually felt her cheeks warming up.

They got inside the cockpit and strapped in for takeoff. She had dreamed of this so many times now, she knew Devik was equally excited about leaving Ord Mantell. She was ready for it, whatever happened later. If their father wasn't going to tell them what they were really up against, she could wait and enjoy the ride.

So for the first time in her life, Runa saw the stars in the daytime.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mandalore, Kyrimorut outskirts, dawn, 1,325 days ABG**

_Three more hills. Keep going._

Boots crunching through snow, twigs and frozen dirt, breath grating in his throat and sweat rolling cold under his heavy armor, he ran as fast and as steadily as he could. He knew there was no rush to finish his morning jog through the forest but timing still mattered. He lept, fell, climbed and crawled, deafened by his own raspy breathing inside the helmet. Muscles were screaming for rest but he kept going.

The physical effort wasn't the hardest part for Bardan Jusik, he could take that kind of pain. Going through that without help from the Force however, was another thing completely. The Jedi training required a physical trial: padawans were pushed to their full capacities until they had to enhance them with the Force. It gave them strength, endurance.

Looking out for the a fallen tree ahead of him he got to a crouch and rolled over. His old training would have let the Force guide his body into performing that move, this time had to do it consciously. Just as he got to his feet again something blocked his ankle and made him loose balance. The ground met with his breastplate, knocking the air out of his lungs. Elbows pushing forward he felt the urge to lie down for a minute… Jusik mentally slapped himself to his senses and shook his foot free from entangling roots, crawled on all fours and stumbled to a run again.

_Better this here than somewhere under fire._

He came to a halt about fifty feet from his starting position, marked by a white cloth tied to a branch. His mouth tasted of iron and his throat ached for a drink of water. He couldn't feel his legs below knee level as he kept going at a slow pace this time. He finally reached the finish point and checked his Heads-Up Display for the chronometer. A little over fifty minutes. He had run five miles, which was not an amazing feat for a regular _mando'ad_, but he did it without _cheating_.

He sat on a flat rock to take a bite from a protein bar. Being short and slender made wearing the armor a real challenge each day, so there was no miracle for that besides improving his constitution. If he wanted to be able to rely on himself only in battle, he needed to be _mandokarla_, having what it takes to be a Mandalorian. And ultimately, he would only use the Force as an absolute last resort.

He breathed in the icy air of winter, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his glove. The forest was silent and calm, which would have made an excellent meditation spot but that was none of his business anymore. Experience told him that battle situations only gave you minutes worth of rest. Washing down the nutty bar with a sip of water his Force senses flared up: someone was coming his way. All his will couldn't shut down his awareness of the living, it kept him prepared at all times. He felt for his light saber at first, because of that deeply honed skill, then corrected his move to go for his blaster.

He waited a few heartbeats before spinning around. The muzzle of his gun pointed straight at red and gray _beskar._

"Woah, _Bard'ika_!" It was Fi, having completely recovered his chuckling abilities. "Aren't you a little jumpy this morning. And what is that? A blaster?"

"You would've liked the light saber, I know." Jusik bit another chunk of his snack and holstered his weapon. "But I don't feel like smelling roast flesh just yet."

"So I heard you were drilling yourself the hard way now, like us ordinary men," Fi said, sitting down next to him. "Hopefully not trying to set a new record."

"I wouldn't worry about it, _Fi'ka_. This no-Force-allowed rule is giving me more trouble than I expected." Yet necessary. Things were different now: Jedi were an endangered species so dragging attention with public displays of super powers was nothing short of stupid. "Sometimes it's hard to tell which are the passive from the active abilities. Sensing people is passive, so I can't help that."

"But that's a good thing. Parja is jealous of your ultra-precise target locator." Fi stood up and placed his helmet back over his head, making him speak with a disembodied voice. "And speaking of that, she wants you to join us for lunch today. The house-building can wait a couple hours."

Jusik smiled and complied. Finding shelter within the _buy'ce_ was comforting. Not being Bardan Jusik the Jedi Knight anymore, always gave him renewed confidence.

Fi found his speeder parked outside the soon-to-become house that Jusik insisted on building himself. Every _mando'ad_ needed his home and shelter. Jusik already had his Aggressor class starfighter to earn his keep, and the house was coming in nicely. Soon it would have a solid bunker and a single underground hangar was also planned, the Nulls had already designed it.

He took care of showering and changing the sweat-laden clothes he wore under the armor, and packed the remaining half of _uj_ cake he had bought in town the other week.

They went to Fi and Parja's home like any other day since Jusik had become their closest friend while healing the now-recovered clone commando from brain trauma. Parja had taken on the healing process by reeducating Fi and teaching him to be happy, bringing love in his life. And hope for the future. All three of them formed a tight group within the Skirata clan.

They sat in the main dining room with its largest table, while the others were always occupied by spare parts, tools and dismantled machinery. Parja had that keen sense of fixing everything and wouldn't give up until it all worked. Still the house was very tidy. Rav Bralor, Parja's aunt and one of the _Cuy'val Dar_, also slept there from time to time.

She placed platters and a casserole of stew, wearing her _beskar'gam_ like any true Mandalorian, minus the helmet.

"Lots of proteins for _Bard'ika_!" she said. "One day you might be able to take me in a fight."

Fi playfully smashed his fist on the table. "Oh no, you just did not! Now it's out there, _cyar'ika. _Tomorrow morning, I'll be calling the bets. No weapons, no Force powers. No armor…"

"Deal!" Jusik grinned.

Parja waved her hand across Fi's face that dodged the hit. "I don't remember raising you to become such a _di'kut_, or have you been spending your creds in Keldabe with Mereel again?" She didn't stop smiling, but her tone was firm. "You see _Bard'ika_, what happens when you let impressionable children play with the big shots. They get funny ideas."

Fi stuffed his face with the hot stewed meat in his plate, still busy chuckling.

"You hung out with Mereel?" Jusik asked him. Mereel was one of the Nulls that used to worked at Intelligence and as a spy for Kal Skirata. He had the reputation among them to be the most frivolous, if not the more promiscuous one of the clones.

"Just once. Yeah we did go to Keldabe for a few drinks when you were off planet. When was that again, last week?"

He had been traveling to Ord Mantell then, meeting with some Zanim, a rogue Mandalorian wishing to join their clan since he heard the Republic - now Empire - had placed an outpost on _Manda'yaim_. Zanim was supposed to contact him about his resources to help them.

"About that much, yes. How is Mereel?"

"Oh he's keeping busy. With the genetics, the bounties and the Imperials it's hard to be idle around here."

"Yet you still find time for clubbing," said Parja. She did not smile so she was either playing games or being funny. "Mereel should get himself a girl once and for all."

"Well he tried, believe me since I was there. They just won't play his game, at all." Fi took cover in his mug.

Jusik decided to come to the rescue. "Not the player type, _Parj'ika_?"

"Oh, we _mando _women are all just fun and games."

Again, he couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic. Even Force powers couldn't help understanding the opposite sex it seemed. He settled for simple point-of-view interpretations.

"So what about you then." She noticed his puzzlement. "When will you introduce us to your future wife?"

Mandalorians didn't beat around the bush. You had to be prepared for anything in a conversation, or you just had nothing to hide. Jusik wasn't ready with either option.

"Still far from that. Haven't taken the time to look…"

Parja smiled and grabbed his wrist across the table, hard.

"Who are you building that house for? And if you want to be a better _mando'ad_ you'll need someone to beat you around with a stick once in a while."

"It works," Fi added. "That's one of the things to look forward to."

"You need a _cyar'ika _to take care of you, Bardan. You don't look too shabby to me right now."

She let go of him to resume eating. He wasn't going to contradict her because he did feel weak and _alone _since the house. Everyone around him had close family and friends to fill the rooms.

"Don't worry about me, _vod'ika_." Little sister, or brother. Mandalorians didn't distinguish male from female in their language. "Someone's got to be out there for me and when the time comes, I'll know it."


	3. Chapter 3

**Keldabe, Mandalore**

Some things never changed. The _Oyu'baat_ cantina was one thing like many on the planet that were always the same no matter what. It made leaving and returning easy. Biran Zanim pushed the doors open and took his children inside for the first time, the same place where he began his mercenary career. He spotted where he used to sit with his own father, drinking bitter ales, looking fierce. Instinctively he went for that same table in a dark corner and ordered a round of homebrewed stew.

"They say it's been the same for millennia's," he told Devik and Runa. "They just add more meat and veg every time."

Both of them looked around like curious animals ready to dig a hole for hiding at any second. They looked like strangers. Runa had more of her mother's traits while Devik was growing into a tall, strong man himself. Not wearing armor in that cantina was the most conspicuous about them though.

"So how do we fit here," Devik said casually. "Initiates, recruits or hired hands?"

Biran let out a chuckle of amusement. "You are family first. It's what we mando's do, we work together and gather the clan when an empire is out to get you."

"And I suppose you have it all planned out for us. So your friends won't see it weird that we're not actually Mandalorian like you."

"I promise it won't be. It's not always about the armor, too. People here are fast at detecting guts and talent - _mandokarla_, having what it takes_._ And that's valuable."

He didn't want to spoil any surprise for them, or shock them into fear and never see them again. Devik seemed relaxed but still suspicious while Runa looked outright worried, looking discretely around her every minute.

He was luckily cut short of an awkward comment as he saw movement in the entrance. His contact with the Skirata clan was called Gotab and he had only seen him in the holo-com. Yet he recognized the man's dull green armor as he walked straight towards him. He must have had a spy to report for him or made a quick scan of the cantina. Either way he was quick, and he stood next to them, thumbs stuck in his belt.

"Biran Zanim." And that wasn't a question. Biran nodded slowly.

"Indeed, Gotab. Have a seat."

The man moved his T-visor in direction of Devik and Runa before complying. Underneath the bucket he had short, blond hair and a clean shaven juvenile face. He couldn't be any older than his kids barring that withered look in his eyes.

"This is Devik, and Runa Zanim. My children from Ord Mantell. They'll be here to assist me."

Gotab stared at them for a moment. Someone must've forgotten to tell him about helmet transparency when it wasn't on his head.

"That's good," he said. "The more the merrier. How much field training did you get?"

It didn't sound like a provocation nor like it meant to sting. His voice was leveled like that of someone used to briefing and giving orders.

"Not much," said Runa. "Some sitrep and woodland recon for the most part."

She was talking about those outdoor tag games that herself and Devik attended once a week with friends. It was very casual stuff, no live rounds, and mostly catastrophic when compared to real world strategy. Devik looked at her sideways like she was exaggerating.

"We can shoot if that's useful. I can fix speeders and droids," he said, then pointed at his sister. "And she's a medic."

"Alright," Gotab nodded. "We'll work with that, see where it goes."

"Any news from Skirata?" Biran asked, eager to relieve his kids from the Mandalorian's attention.

Gotab thoughtfully meshed his gloves hands on the table like an old man would.

"He's gotten busy getting every clone renegade a home," he murmured. "They come in individually, smuggled here actually. They have good intel on imperial resources, some will help but others are enjoying what life they still got left."

"Still no solution for that, eh?"

He shrugged before taking something from his belt pouches. Biran recognized a very valuable credit chip.

"This is from Kal. He insisted you use it any way you see fit during your stay here. Whatever trouble you're trying to avoid it must cost you a great deal."

He took the chip and resisted the temptation to fiddle with it for a moment. It was worth fifty thousand, enough to buy real estate and ordnance. But one thing he knew from his merc days: when someone gave you money you never said no. That revealed to be a mistake once, and he would never regret it.

"I won't ask where it comes from and I'll assume these creds aren't traceable. Whatever it takes for our boys, right?"

He probably knew what that meant. Gotab was too young to be one of the _Cuy'val Dar_, but old enough to have seen the war and what it did to the clones. He probably was one of Skirata's sons or had they divorced him decades ago? Biran forgot.

"I'll make sure you see Kal as soon as possible."

The young man stood and extended his arm to clasp his, hand-to-elbow style. It was a long time since Biran was ever greeted that way.

"Where are you staying?" Gotab asked out of the blue.

"We're at the hostel down the road. Otherwise I have my ship but it's at the space port."

He cringed and seemed to think for a second, like listening to an inner voice.

"We're based at Kyrimorut, not here. Let me take you there and you can use my place for shelter."

"By that you mean, at Skirata's?"

The young man lifted a perplexed eyebrow.

"Different place," he simply answered.

**Kyrimorut, Mandalore, night time**

After half an hour of riding at high speed through snowy meadows and plains they saw the town of Kyrimorut only to drive by it. The gang they were going to meet was based in a remote farm of course. Big crowded areas seemed to make them itchy. Biran noticed Gotab loosening up as they approached his territory.

"This is it. Doesn't look like much for now but I'm still working on it."

It was indeed a separate building from the rest of the lonely homes they could spot in the area, with its own landing field and short access to woods and the river. It looked like a reassembled ruin of a house. The interior was all of wooden finish and furniture for some reason, even the walls. It probably helped with isolation.

"_Kandosii_," Biran approved. "You're one crafty lad. This reminds me of Kashyyyk."

Devik and Runa laid their bags on the floor, not really knowing where to put themselves.

"Changes from the usual permacrete and metal planks," Runa said, frisking her hands together to warm them up.

Gotab took her bag. "A Wookie friend taught me a few things. I'll show you to your room."

She followed him down a flight of stairs. Devik took a handheld data pad from his jacket.

"My colleagues should be keeping me up to date," he explained. "Apparently we're losing a contract for spare parts against the new imperial ship yard."

"A ship yard on Ord Mantell? Military?"

"Well, I can hardly imagine them sponsored by a yachting line. It's a busy planet with lots of people to monitor, I guess."

"As they're trying to do here. That just makes me sick. I hope you're not opening that link, by the way."

"No worries, dad. Will feel much safer once I get it secured."

Smart _Dev'ika_, always thinking ahead. Biran had to hand it to his wife for raising their children to become responsible, resourceful adults. And the prospect of a new life on another planet didn't scare them. Or at least, they didn't show it.

They found their own beds in a larger room with half a dozen bunk-like cots, barracks style. As if Gotab was used to harboring visitors.

"Maybe I shouldn't ask this," Biran inquired. "but who else lives here?"

"Only me for the moment. And the occasional retiree but they never stay longer than a week. They're good at finding their place in society."

"Well for someone your age it's a nice place you've put together, Gotab."

The boy smiled embarrassingly. "Please, call me Bardan."

"Real name?" asked Devik playfully.

"Or so I was told."

Runa appeared at the door frame, clearly not enjoying being left aside.

"I could be fine in here with the boys. We're family anyway."

"No," Devik said. "You snore like a bantha."

Biran let out a laugh because he couldn't help but see his kids as five year olds and not twenty-four.

"And you fart. Big deal." Runa went over to a bunk and sat on it to have a feel of the thin mattress.

Gotab - or Bardan - was growing impatient, or uneasy. He wasn't simple to read.

"Ok, do as you like but get to it. I want to go over a few things with you before we head out for a little sight-seeing."

"All of us?" Biran said. "Or who exactly?"

"Anyone willing."

Runa sat up straight. "In the middle of the night?"

Gotab nodded with a big grin. Biran shook his head.

"Kids…" he sighed. "Well I'm telling you three good night, because when you come back all tired and filthy I'll be snoozing like a baby. An old man's gotta have his beauty sleep."


	4. Chapter 4

_Come on, you can do this._

She jumped, stomach knotted thinking that her feet would miss the ledge and her weight would make her slide down the muddy ravine. Maybe the adrenaline helped, as she didn't even notice the tight grip of a gloved hand catching her arm. Bardan pulled her to her feet and they started walking, or running again.

It was cold, dark, and humid because she was sweating. But mostly it was dark and Runa relied on vague shadows to avoid bumping comically into a tree. She felt so unprepared for this kind of night hike. Luckily her clothes and boots were holding together, credits well spent. Thinking of her gear took her mind off her pain and the will to just stop, admitting defeat. It made her realize that in a twisted way she was like her female coworkers that loved shopping.

Her brother seemed to be doing fine, even though he was breathing heavily as well. Not seeing people complain made her feel very lonely.

Their Mandalorian guide slowed down at last, and then she saw in the starlight that his chest plates were heaving. When he spoke, she heard his panting. There was a living, mortal man in there.

"They have patrols going around but we're just out of range. You'll be able to see the lights from here soon."

Runa sipped water from the tube of her camelback pouch, happy that they were walking again. Walking was easy, on bumpy or flat terrain she could walk all day. But then she would need a protective suit with more belt pockets. Yes, she would fancy some armor, too.

The woods they were crossing became less thick as they progressed towards the edges. Bardan came to a halt and got down on one knee. Devik and Runa crouched at his level to stare out in the horizon. She saw the buildings and towers, circled by high walls of permacrete. Blinking air-signaling lights and artillery canons yelled "military complex". It was too far away to spot any units on foot. And so her gaze lifted up in the sky because it was fully sprinkled with bright stars. There were so many that it made her head spin.

"I say that's a real military base, with Imps," Devik said with an ironical tone. "Let us call an air strike."

"Sadly these are mostly clone personnel." Bardan held up his rifle, a modified Verpine precision rifle with its mounted scope and sturdy build, and aligned the sights with his T-visor for a magnified view of the base. "You haven't seen them in the capital because Shysa, our Mandalore aka. ambassador, has agreed on certain terms with their general."

Runa didn't see him hand out his rifle because, while listening to him her eyes had gone up in the sky again.

"Come on, take a look."

She felt him watch her as she held the weapon against her shoulder, careful not to put her finger on the trigger even if the safety was on, and closed an eye to see through the scope. With a thirty times magnification she spotted white-armored troopers walking two by two along the walls of the complex.

"Do you know any of them?" she asked.

"Not their batch. These clones were issued in the last days of the war, with different training programs."

Having seen enough, she handed the Verpine to Devik. "It's a sweet rifle, very light."

And it was hard to talk about ordnance, and to pretend she had any tactical insight. All she wanted to do at that moment was to stare at the star fields and drink warm caf, wrapped up in a cozy blanket.

"So what's the plan?" Devik asked, fiddling with the scope, taking in as much as he could.

"With these numbers and our chances our only option is infiltration. But we're going to need access codes. So the only way to do that is to get invited. That's where fresh new faces should come into play."

"Oh I see where this is going… We're the convenient tourists ready to play dumb."

He handed back the rifle that Bardan briefly checked before slinging it to his side.

"And to gather some intel. But don't worry, it's still a work in progress."

They walked back into the woods, surrounded by darkness again.

"But you have clone friends, right?" Runa dared asking. "Why not send one of them in an imperial uniform?"

"To trick non-clones, it's been done before."

There was a sharp bleep sound coming from her right pocket that made everyone stop and turn around. Runa pulled out her data pad to see an incoming call.

"Don't answer that," Bardan hissed.

The transmitter bleeped again. It was her mother. With a pinch at the heart Runa turned it off. She strode again in a hurry, not wanting to show her worried state.

"Who was that?" Devik said with a clenched jaw.

"Mom."

"Have you told her anything?"

So he hadn't called her either about their trip. Runa sighed and tried to focus on where she was stepping.

"I assumed dad did." She stopped to catch her breath but her throat was hurting now. "She must be upset."

"Don't be such a baby. At least we didn't compromise dad back home."

"We still should've called her."

"Obviously we can't now so get over it."

They got along rather well as siblings, but in moments of tension Devik often was the one taking control. Runa found it annoying and resented him for that sometimes. Right then she fought hard to keep a straight face.

She saw Bardan walking between them undisturbed like they weren't having that conversation. They followed him obediently.

After a long minute he finally spoke. "I'll set you up a secure line as soon as we get back."

That night had been approximately three hours of walking in complete darkness. Thankfully Bardan had a multi-passenger speeder for the long runs. He must have had night vision enabled in his helmet visor to know exactly where to go, and he didn't say a single thing again until they arrived home.

Before she had the chance to take her coat and boots off he motioned her to his workstation: a desk and shelves with parts, devices and various accessories laid around.

"Lend me your comlink."

Runa watched as he opened the casing and worked on the circuitry with a micro-spanner, and other tools she couldn't identify.

"I'm sorry about earlier," she said hesitatingly. "It was stupid to leave that open so close to the base."

"There was no harm done."

He closed the casing back into place and handed it to her before removing his helmet. Unlike what she expected he seemed less engaging without it, his face locked in a severe, focused expression. The Mandalorian mask made him look like ordinary folk on that planet.

"Although," he softened his voice, "whatever is the issue with your brother, I suggest you both talk it out."

"Yeah, I… I'll do that." Her smile felt crooked and uncertain.

Bardan tilted his head to one side in curiosity. It was like he could notice every change in her attitude. She was maybe a year or two older than him and usually people around the same age would make friends and share their thoughts. But he seemed a stranger at all times.

Wars made people different, she knew about that. She also knew that her father could never be like any normal adult she had known in her civilian life, because of what he had done and seen. She felt clumsy and out of place, and _normal_, in his world.

"Whatever my father intended to do by bringing us here," she said quietly, "I'll do my best not to get in your way."

His face went from an intrigued to a sad look. She regretted immediately what she'd said then, because he leaned against his desk, arms folded across his breastplate. She braced herself for a lecture.

"Your father is a Mandalorian, and for us you are as much value as he is because you are his family. The family, or clan, comes first in _mando_ culture."

"But I wasn't raised as a Mandalorian." Her voice protested as she tried to control herself. "Our mother refused that."

"So you brought yourself to higher standards by your own means. That still matters a great deal. It's never too late to embrace the culture."

There was a glint in his eyes and a certainty that calmed her down.

"Where is your family?" she asked. "You said you lived alone."

"Kal Skirata adopted me into his clan." He took a short breath. "I used to serve the Republic, but resigned two years ago. The Mandalorian culture and morals were strong within the ranks of troopers and Kal showed me it was possible for me to become what I truly wanted to be."

"Why, what happened under the Republic?"

He paused, defocused for a moment. Runa was curious and didn't like people that avoided details. She had followed many news reports during the war and this was a first-hand source of information.

"I was a Jedi general," he said quietly. "I was sending soldiers to their death and moved to the next system."

She found a seat next to the dining table. It wasn't just what he said but how he did it: cold and detached. His eyes riveted on hers when she had let the story sink in.

"A Jedi?" She tried to picture him in floating brown robes and a light saber since she had never met one before. "But I thought… I saw holo-vids of Jedi fighting alongside clones…"

"I did some of that, yeah." He ran gloved fingers through his blond hair, thoughtful. "And in the end, we were fighting for the wrong side, and the battles lead us nowhere. But my point is that it's up to you. You decide what you want to do with your life."

"I'm not sure," she sighed.

"You must be." He patted her roughly on the shoulder. "Unless you've come this far across the galaxy to turn down the greatest offer that could ever happen to you."

She turned around to face him.

"If you didn't have this, would you have stayed with the Republic?"

He looked her sideways and bit his lower lip. "Probably. But then I wouldn't be here now."

Seeing the raw sadness in his eyes puzzled her. She excused herself to bed and with a mind full of questions and doubts she slept her first night on Mandalore.


	5. Chapter 5

**Enceri, Mandalore, market day - 1,325 days ABG**

Enceri was the busier town around Kyrimorut that provided most supplies before taking the trip to the capital. Jusik liked it because it was smaller, of course. And even though everybody knew everything about everyone on Mandalore, he still enjoyed the relative anonymity there. While bounty hunters and mercenaries crawled the roads in Keldabe, you could walk around without checking your six in Enceri.

On market day there was fresh food and general goods to be found, something he started paying close attention to as off late. Walking out of the groceries shop he waited for Fi, outside in the muddy street. It was probably why Parja wanted her husband and him to go for shopping in that season. He finally walked out and they carried their bags full of supplies down the road.

"No, really I'm glad you made new friends. I hang out with Mereel, and you conspire against the Empire with _mando'ade_ coming out of nowhere. Brilliant."

That town really made their tongues feel at ease, maybe too much. Thanks to soundproof helmets that didn't matter one bit.

"Only one of them is a _mando'ad_. From what I understood, his wife is an _arueti_ from Ord Mantell and she didn't let their kids be trained."

"Ouch. Does that mean we get to teach them? I've always wanted to try my drill instructor skills on some poor, disillusioned fellow."

"If that's what you want, be my guest."

Jusik briefly recalled himself telling a confused young woman that her life would be better worth living as a Mandalorian.

"But isn't that something you'd be good at, _Bard'ika_? Showing the example following the Mandalorian way and all that." His gaze got attracted towards a layout of gun attachments. "Besides you know better _mando'a_ than I do. Or than most of the people I know."

"That's hardly relevant… Unless you're jealous of course."

Fi prodded him with his armored elbow. "Hardly, _vod_. What I mean is that you should pass all that knowledge on to someone, share some of that _mando_ goodness you've been studying for three years."

While examining a miniature thermal det launcher Jusik pondered the question. It wasn't like he'd never given thoughts on training and teaching - he had been a Jedi after all. And had he remained one a little longer he might have had to take on a Padawan apprentice. All Jedi were prepared to that and implicitly repeated the education they received from their masters.

His master was Arligan Zey, Senior General for the spec-ops. Zey had been treading the thin line between Republic duty and Jedi morals for all of his military career. It wasn't the kind of life Jusik aspired to have. Even out of the Order he still felt compelled to make his every decision the right one - compromising was out of the question. Too many good people put themselves at risk to serve both sides of what they thought was right. He knew two of them, and they both ended dead.

"I told one of them about the Force thing."

"Really, you did?"

It could have been the small F-force to anybody listening in the conversation, and it beat saying _Jedi_ out loud any time of the day. Curiously Jusik couldn't bring himself to lay it flat out, even on a private channel.

"Who asked?" Fi sounded genuinely curious.

"Zanim's daughter." Jusik lifted a finger. "And before you say anything - no, it's not what you think."

They made their way out to the speeder lot.

"Well, well! Mister mysterious one, looks like you're taking on Parja's advice. That's ok, _Bard'ika_. I won't tell anyone that you're actually a man."

Jusik sighed, but he was actually chuckling behind his mask. He just decided to switch his mute function on.

"I can see you laughing with your shoulders, _vod'ika._ You're the worst actor I've ever seen." They entered their speeder and took the dirt path out to Kyrimorut. "It's obvious to me that you used to wear robes and handle a light saber. So how is she like?"

"I don't know, Fi. It's been a while since I've seen my mother."

"You're so totally in love. Remember? I can tell from your body language."

Clones actually could tell a lot about someone, judging by their attitudes. Looking all identical it was easy for them to spot muscle movement in faces and everything. By the same logic, the absence of reaction in someone in full armor was just as revealing. Jusik surrendered.

"Her name is Runa. She is… something around my age, maybe younger. Dark brown hair, medium height." He turned his head to Fi. "You'll see her anyway and make all the jokes you want. I don't care."

"You're no fun, Bardan. You and I should hang out more. Who knows? You could learn a lot from a guy like Mereel."

"_Shab_. You really like him, don't you?"

"He's my anti-Bardan mentor. A man's gotta have balance in his circle of friends."

"Good call, I guess."

"And you do talk about her like she's your girl."

"Do I get to say anything for my defense?"

"Keep _trying_."

**Kyrimorut**

When he got home after dropping Fi off he didn't see anybody inside. His other senses, however, told him to go around the back of the house. He saw Biran Zanim in civilian fatigues, helping Runa align her sights on a rifle, aiming at something fixed to a tree, quite far away for a beginner. Devik was standing a few steps behind her, watching.

Jusik breathed out slowly before walking up to the other young man, taking off his helmet to speak quietly.

"How are things?"

Runa discretely looked around and smiled before going back to her shooting. Devik, arms folded across his chest, bobbled his head side to side.

"Lacking targets to shoot but otherwise fine. I'm thinking of getting myself some kit with, uh… the new _assets_ you so kindly provided us."

"Anything special in mind?"

"I got a few ideas." He looked enviously at Jusik's side where he slung his modified Verp. "Could I try it some time?"

Jusik returned a defying glare. Devik was a head well taller than him and more muscular, with close cut black hair over the pale skin of his face. He probably trained indoors. But Jusik liked his Verp very much.

"Yeah, of course." He smirked. "Kal has a collection of them and started importing some. You might be able to get one yourself."

Runa had almost pierced a hole near the edge of the makeshift target her father had made out of wood. She wore her hair in a lose buns in the back of her head, something she'd had to take care of in order to wear a helmet. Carefully she put the weapon's safety back on before giving it back to her father.

"Not too bad for a first time."

"I shot guns before."

"Toys," Biran corrected, condescending. "You shot toys."

"Tag guns, laser guns… There's only so much difference and a little recoil."

"But the other one can't blow your face up when it lacks maintenance. Don't forget that."

Strange way to see it, indeed. Jusik wondered what happened to the "guns kill" motto that most parents and civilians would use. In the end, anything could be turned into a lethal weapon when placed into the wrong hands… or a Mandalorian's.

"All this talk of weapons made me hungry," Biran said. "What did you get for us, _Bard'ika_?"

It turned out that Devik was an excellent cook and Runa did a lot of helping around the house to keep busy. When usually empty it was surprising to see so many people occupying it. Jusik was glad that his work finally served a purpose. After lunch he met Runa in the dormitory, sitting on her bunk and searching in her backpack. She sneezed and held a paper tissue to her nose.

"I'm okay," she said on a cheerful tone. "Just a cold."

"Oh. Because of last night?"

"Or something I caught at work, since the incubation takes at least two days." She loudly blew her nose before finding a bottle of tablets. "I'll be fine."

"At work? What kind of medic are you?"

"Emergency medic. I go between house calls and homeless people. So yeah… not exactly clean or safe."

"But it's a noble profession."

She shrugged, sinking her meds with bottled water. "I always wanted to be a pilot. Travel the galaxy, see the stars all around me." She pointed at a data pad on her bed. He went over to take it. "Since I can't afford a ship or traveling, I paint them. It's kind of my hobby."

Jusik flicked over dozens of pictures made by her. All of them were of stars, planets, nebulas. They weren't exactly like real ones but they were still nice to look at.

"That's beautiful," he said, out of words.

"Reality is better sometimes. But thank you."

"You could've joined the orbital fleet on Ord Mantell, or something like that."

She wiped her nose again, looking incongruously inside her tissue which was more funny than repugnant.

"I guess I always want to have something to dream about."

It suddenly became too much for him to take in. A minute earlier she was a daughter and a medic that could shoot. Now she was a soul with passions and fantasies, things he'd never indulged into simply because he never had the time. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. All he knew was how to be combat-ready, and strong enough to face another day.

"I remember last night, you seemed distracted, nose up in the sky."

She smiled shyly at him, taking her data pad to stow it in her pack.

"I was tired and distracted, a liability. That's not a good thing."

"Maybe you just need to get it out of your system. I'll teach you how to pilot. If you want to, that is."

"You never let go, do you? So is that an Aggressor I saw just outside?"

The Aggressor class starfighter had a conspicuously insectile shape that made it very noticeable. With large lateral wings that resembled mandibles where ordnance was mounted. It could carry eight passengers and also had detention cells for cargo. It could even be used as a training vehicle.

Runa took her time to visit every compartment and learn every functionality for all the keys, buttons and switches. Jusik let her sit in the pilot's seat to get a feel of the commands. She squealed like a child when he switched the power on and all the lights came to life.

"This is so exciting. I feel like in a rollercoaster capsule and the ride's just about to start."

"A rollercoaster?"

"Yeah, um… It's an amusement park thing. There are lots of silly tourists back home ready to get shoved around in a box."

"Lovely. I didn't know. Most of the things I saw there were the slums and criminal hives."

"Oh. _Oh,_ you mean like when you were on a mission?" She turned her attention back to the control panels, clearly looking for things to say. "My hometown isn't that bad. You should see the countryside with the mountains. Where did you live before Mandalore?"

She pressed a few buttons that activated lights in and outside the ship.

"Well it was Coruscant for as far as I recall." He didn't feel like mentioning the Jedi Temple. "Then a lot of Outer and Mid-Rim planets while moving with the troops. Wait, don't--"

Her fingers landed on one of the commands that launched countermeasures. They heard a loud clank that meant that the hull was opening near the back of the ship, then a shooting sound. He got out of the cockpit, grabbing an extinguisher in a corner of the hallway that lead to the boarding ramp.

Outside, a big ball of white fire was slowly dying about ten feet away in the snowy, icy ground. Thankfully it hadn't landed in a thicket or the woods. He ran to it and killed the flames with the hose before it created too much smoke.

"I'm so sorry!" Runa cried, hands on her cheeks in embarrassment. "What was that?"

"It's alright you just shot a flare."

Soon they were joined by her father and brother. Biran had his rifle out and ready.

"Tell me you were actually killing something," he snarled, "and not trying to impress my daughter."

"My mistake for confusing the flare with the torpedo launcher." He then playfully circled an arm around Runa. "I guess I was a bit distracted."

Devik smiled widely and went inside the ship, too curious to ignore the open hatch. Biran walked away from them, rifle resting on his shoulder.

"I got my eyes on you, _ad'ika_."

Runa then pulled away from Jusik and followed her brother to hide in the ship. He stood outside for a moment, in shock by what his Force senses had picked up from the young woman when he'd touched her. It was fear. Mislead by her tough, sturdy demeanor Jusik didn't know how to interpret it, was it because he was a Jedi? Or did she expect him to act differently in presence of her family?

Whatever the relationship he'd share with Runa he had the feeling that it would be more complicated than he'd imagined. He caught himself wishing he'd simply walked up to a Mandalorian female - anyone, really - and just got the "job" done.

Walking around the nose of the ship he saw through the tinted canopy Runa sitting next to Devik inside the cockpit, lively explaining to him what she had learned.


	6. Chapter 6

**Keldabe spaceport**

Two days was the longest Biran would leave his ship unattended, even in a place like Mandalore. Now that he knew where to land and stay close to his allies he took the Pursuer off from the busy docks of the capital city. Sitting in the next seat was Kal Skirata, thoroughly browsing the data he'd given him on his gauntlet display. They were lists of names and ranks of squads and troopers that he had trained. And of those that got processed for their _second_ training.

"Did all of them make it to the Imperial ranks?"

"Most of them did. Barring casualties from Jedi during the final showdown."

"_Shab_. Didn't want to mention that."

"Yeah. Damn shame."

Biran wasn't sure which part he felt most sorry for. But in his own point of view the clone troopers and commandos were the least to blame. They would always be like his own children and was always true for any of the _Cuy'val Dar_, the Mandalorian training officers hired by Jango Fett. The clone ARC's, Nulls and Commandos were their pride and joy. Now their work was gone to other hands, _aruetiise_ that would shut out the warrior spirits of the troops and turn them to drones.

They landed at Kyrimorut, just outside his temporary home, and Biran got up to prep his baggage.

He checked the contents of the safe in his cabin before neatly moving them piece by piece in his carry-all bags.

"Great looking _beskar_," said Skirata peering over his shoulder.

"My brother and sister's. May they rest forever in the Manda."

Skirata, only a few years older than him, was now completely white-haired and even more wrinkled and elderly looking than he remembered him back on Kamino. The two men had only crossed paths a few times in a decade.

"These armors have been waiting for years to be worn again," Biran mused, holding one of the helmets. It was painted purple and grey, with traces of green in the dents and scratches. That one would suit Runa just fine. Kal patted his back.

"Better late than never, _ner vod_. How is the wife feeling about this?"

"Not as opposed to it now. I guess the kids made her change her mind themselves."

Kal stretched his thin lips in a smile, eyes lost in memories. He finished packing the suits.

"Tell me, that Bardan kid of yours. Where did you find him?"

"Ah, my little genius," Kal seemed to avoid his stare. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you."

"Try me, old _shabuir. _I've seen enough strange in this life."

"I hate to go around his back about this, that's all I mean. He'll let you know himself. Why do you ask?"

Biran stopped at the hatch and turned to Kal, not knowing how to place the words.

"It's nothing, parental paranoia. Cause you see, I have a daughter…"

"Ah yes, I see." The old man grinned proudly. "Don't worry, Biran. She'll be in good hands. "

Kal cheerfully punched the hatch open and walked out briskly for an injured, sixty-something year old man. He remembered seeing Skirata when he used to limp around the immaculate white halls of Tipoca City.

The three young people were there to greet them. Kal ruffled Bardan's hair then shook Devik and Runa's hands _mando_-style. They went inside to sit at the dining table where food and hot tea were ready.

"I want to apologize for not showing any sooner, business kept me a little longer on Nar Shaddaa. Anyway, you must be excited about being here already so I'll cut to the chase: we need you to extract certain things from a very protected place without dragging attention."

"Yes, we were told that." Devik nodded in direction of Bardan.

"Good, then I can show you where it is…"

"That's done too."

"Okay then. Looks like my work is done!" He feigned leaving but sat back, smiling and exuding good mood. "It'll be simple, really. Knock at the door and ask to enlist in the Imperial forces, get in, place a couple bugs and get out."

Runa lifted her nose up from her cup of tea. "People can actually enlist in the Imperial army?"

"Last I heard they were recruiting non-clones, yes. And preferably humans. They're hoping to get _mando'ade_ into their ranks. Which is already done, basically."

He looked over at Biran with a dark stare.

"The intel we need is the locations of their training bases and where they transferred some of our boys. The rescue missions will come later."

"Sounds risky," said Runa.

"It's actually suicidal," Biran added. "But _risky_ by Mandalorian standards."

"Don't worry, _ad'ika_. We're old but we've seen our share of action. And so did Bardan, which I think you already got to know."

He expected Runa to flush or look shy but instead she froze up and just nodded. Something was wrong.

"Actually I haven't," he finally said. "Let's hear your story, _Bard'ika._"

The young man, arms folded on the table, turned his dark blue eyes to Runa in a silent question and she looked back with a shrug. There was something going on, alright. He blinked slowly before caving in.

"Last name is Jusik. Look it up when you feel curious again."

Now even Kal seemed upset. Biran decided it wasn't the greatest time to put the man's family tensions on the table. He had more important things to do with his own.

"Fine by me if you prefer it that way…" He stood up and gestured for his children to follow him.

Back in the dormitory he gave them a bag each with the Mandalorian suits. They were heavy: Mandalorian metal, or _beskar_, was very dense. So solid that it was laser proof.

"From now on you will not leave the house without these on."

"_Fierfek_," hissed Devik, but he was radiating joy.

He unpacked a gauntlet with a dart thrower mounted on it, painted black and yellow. Runa found her helmet, and tried it on immediately. Her head looked huge without the rest of the armor.

"I can't see."

"Heads-Up Display is offline. Blink twice."

"Ah! Oh my…"

Biran could stand there for hours watching them play with their new toys - no, their uniform, weapons, their new identity - but he helped them get the armor plates attached and fit correctly.

"They belonged to your aunt and uncle. Take care of your _beskar'gam_ like your lives depend on it."

"We will," Devik said, voice amplified and distorted behind his mask. "Ha ah! Do I sound funny and cool or what?"

Runa, now all dressed of silver and purple, giggled childishly, fiddling with her belt pouches.

Biran didn't want to spoil the moment by telling them that the previous owners of these armors had been brutally killed decades ago at the Battle of Galidraan. He spent hours cleaning them and he knew the stories of every burn, dent and scratch on the _beskar_ plates. He especially remembered those caused by light sabers.

"So, dad…" Devik began, and took his helmet off. Biran felt a pinch in the heart that they weren't calling him _buir_ yet. "Does this mean we're gonna see some action?"

"Keep wearing it everyday and action will come to you."

"Makes sense, actually." He clipped a leg holster to his belt and looked in his bag. "Something's missing in all of this."

"Your weapons," Biran answered, "aren't there. You'll have to make due for now."

"The fuel pouch for my flamethrower is empty," Runa added.

"Sounds like a good stroll opportunity to me," said Devik. "Can't wait to go out."

Biran put his own helmet on, and while he was at it started an archive search for the name "Jusik".

"Then hop on the speeder," he said. "We're going gun shopping."

The search results popped up in a miniature picture in the top left corner of his HUD. He recognized Bardan in that mug-shot, with a beard and long scruffy hair. He could've been some smuggler or thief in the Coruscant lower levels. Whatever he did, it made the Empire angry and had a hit on him. As he walked out of the house to get in his vehicle, his eyes wandered in the description and fell on a rank title: _Jedi General_.

Biran sat still for a moment, processing the intel. His first thought was _traitor_. His second, he saw images of his brother and sister getting sliced by blazing white laser swords in a snowy valley. And finally he looked around to find Runa behind him on the passenger's seat. She was focused on arranging her hair tightly enough to fit in her bucket. She _knew_ about Bardan.

Trying not to worry was hard as a parent. His children were adults, they could make their own judgments. Not being around for them for most their lives pushed him to do something about it though.

"What's wrong, dad?"

Devik looked at him through his black T-slit, suddenly the familiar face of another _mando'ad_, a brother and ally.

"Something came up. Regretful news."

"Anything I should worry about?"

"Not yet, I hope." He powered the engines up. "But let's go and get ourselves things that go bang!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Gotab residence, the next day**

Runa woke up early and made sure not to wake the others in the dorm while she dressed up. However she had to put each piece of armor on in the dark. What she did to solve that problem was to use the night vision setting in her helmet. She tried hard not to sneeze, cleaning up afterwards would be a nightmare.

When she left the house the icy wind did not slap her face, she didn't feel discomfort in her wrists or feet. The suit seemed to be climate-proof and the sealing clips around the neck looked like she could take a leap out of a hatch, too. The outside stayed _outside_, so the _beskar'gam_ felt strangely securing.

The other major change about wearing the armor was to have a HUD floating around her field of vision. It was blue and gold digits constantly changing, measuring distances, altitude, temperature, and communication frequencies also seemed to be available. She decided not to play around with them for now. She got out this early that day because she needed time alone to think, and to get familiar with her suit.

There was a narrow path leading across the field of snow and to the woods so she went that way. Once she was sure that her armor was holding securely she broke into a light jog, but only up to the first trees she met. She had to stop to catch her breath. Thankfully her visor didn't steam up. _Beskar_ was really heavy, so she walked.

She held her brand new KX-60 blaster rifle ready and aligned her sights at some random point ahead of her. Her HUD immediately adapted its focus with the scope of the weapon. She wanted to squeeze the trigger and shoot a tree but thought better of it. She kept a tight grip on the rifle when she proceeded with her walk. It was a lot of climbing around rocks and bumpy terrain, she felt very uneasy at first trying to maintain awareness of all the equipment she was carrying. In those moments she really wished she'd been trained in the military.

Her mind was so wrapped around the here-and-now that she didn't stop and realize what she was becoming. There were no mirrors for her to come to the actual conclusion _you are a _mando_ now_. Every time she tripped or lost balance it was her pride and confidence that took a blow, reminding her of her physical weaknesses. Maybe the suit made her look Mandalorian, but in her mind she was still "naive little Runa with her paintings". It felt wrong to steal the identity of a warrior and she lived with the fear that everyone could see it.

She kept going for about half an hour until she'd had enough. Her nose itched to be wiped; maybe pulling the helmet off and taking cold wasn't the greatest idea. So she sniffled all the way back to the house following the edge of the woods to watch the sun rise. And, still getting distracted by the overwhelming interface dancing in front of her eyes she explored the database contents. There she found a list of words in the Mandalorian language, _mando'a_, with vocal keys and translations in Basic. The first thing she did was looking up the words that she'd heard from her father and Bardan, in order to eventually come up with her own use of the language. If she failed to meet the physical standards she would have to excel with other skills.

Of course she couldn't imagine herself speaking it yet, the words sounded too alien to her. So far the odd sentences in huttese were all the foreign could speak for her line of work but that didn't seem enough now. Wearing the armor and holding an assault rifle, whatever she thought she could do meant nothing unless she mastered it.

Back in the house where it was warm but she couldn't feel the change within her suit, she smelled fresh caf and food through the filters of her helmet. Her visual display adapted to the dim lights, changing the colors slightly and she needed a minute to find her way around again. Her boots stomped loudly on the wooden floor, a hint of how much heavier she weighted with all the equipment.

Devik was sitting in the workshop, all black and gold trimmed armor on him. He was leaning forward over his helmet in great focus to modify something inside the sealing mechanism.

"Enjoying the new outfit?" he asked, looking at her with a wide grin on his face.

"It's cozy," she said. "Like a coffin."

"Now you're just trying to be funny." He turned back to his work. "I'm fixing the soundproofing system in mine. Have you tried your comms yet?"

Matter-of-factly she had thought of telling her mother about what they were up to. Since things were completely set for her now she was ready to announce it. Selecting her comms list in her HUD she chose one of the encrypted channels available to her and added her mother's contact via the remote link of her data pad. Then walking into her bunk she confirmed the outgoing call and waited.

A minute later she heard and saw the face of a woman in her fifties, wavy dark hair worn long around her face and a worried look in her eyes. She couldn't see who was comming her.

"Who is this?"

"It's me, mom. Sorry for not talking to you sooner."

"Runa, my darling, how are you? Is everything ok?"

"I'm fine… Mom, I'm on Mandalore, with Devik and dad. Everything is almost falling into place and I don't think I'll be coming back."

There was a sad smile crossing her mother's face as she spoke.

"Don't be sorry, Runa dear. Your father spoke to me a few days ago and I told him to take you away. It wasn't his intention at first, he wanted to move us all to another system and lay low for the rest of our lives. But I couldn't let him do that to you and your brother. It would be like living in a cage. No… you deserve to be whatever you want to be."

Her throat tightened and she felt pressure behind her eyes. Nobody could see her tears through her mask anyway but it was hard to let go. Maybe if her mother was there with her she'd feel in a safe place.

"But what are you going to do all alone?" she asked weakly. "You should come with us and we can be a family again."

She seemed to ponder the question for a moment. It was what Runa wished for the most, more than being able to run for hours or flying a starfighter. Seeing her family happy together was all that mattered right then.

"I'll think about it. But for now you do what you think is best for you. I know you're strong, Runa. You always were."

Now she felt something warm slide down her cheeks and she nodded. Her mother smiled and shut the transmission off. Runa pulled the helmet off her head to wipe her face and nose and tried to relax, to clear the sobs out of her before anybody saw her that way. Then came the regrets and things she wished she had said while she had the chance. She wanted to tell her that she missed her and how hard it was to walk in her father's footsteps, how difficult it was to understand Mandalorians and to ask her what made her marry one.

Runa couldn't begin to think of herself marrying a man only based on proximity and odd timing. And Bardan puzzled her, not only because he was a strange former Jedi - and she'd had no idea that people could drop out of that order -, but his behavior was callous and sometimes clumsy in her presence and she didn't like it. Her experience limited in bitter disappointments with men she couldn't hope for much about Bardan despite the fact that he meant well in that mystical Jedi way. She just couldn't relate to him at all.

Her father met her in the kitchen as he was sorting food. He wore his battle armor like the other day as if he hadn't taken it off over night, but Runa deduced that he only just took a few minutes to equip it every day. He looked her from head to toe and smiled in approval.

"_Kandosii!_ You make great honor to your aunt… If she were here to see this."

"Thanks, I'm flattered. And by the way, you never told me what happened to her?"

"Fell in the battle of Galidraan when you were just a toddler. A fierce woman she was." His voice trailed off in the noise of fuming nerf steaks in a frying pan.

Runa watched him for a moment when it dawned on her that she hadn't talked to him about Bardan's secret. Noticing how he observed him over the table the other day she guessed that he needed answers.

"Bardan talked to me after our recon hike. He told me that he used to be a Jedi before leaving the order and becoming a _mando'ad_. Sorry if I haven't told anyone else about it, because I thought you knew."

"Well I do now, _ad'ika_. But thanks for coming clean, makes trusting easier for this poor old merc you have for a father. So how do you feel about him?"

"How do I feel?" she repeated, taken aback.

"I've been twenty years old too once, you know… Things happen, whether you want to or not, people tend to care for one another very easily in combat situations. That's why most Mandalorians marry young, to spend less time flirting, making their parents go insane."

"Are you actually saying that I should marry Bardan?"

"Oh, _shab_ no." He stirred his pan, adding spices in it. "I want you to remain cautious. Odds are you'll be spending some time here to learn all you can, and not just about Mandalorian history - _everything_ around it, too. We accept and adopt all races and professions if they have it in their guts to become _mando'ade_. But certain morals and beliefs just aren't _compatible_ with ours. Jedi are the best example of that: one-sided, emotionally frustrated, self-righteous _di'kute_ with immeasurable powers."

The words caught her aback with their cynicism. Runa began to believe her father in a certain way that she also knew that he couldn't always be right. In that perspective she understood how someone could choose not to approve of the order and just take a leap.

"So Bardan is different from a Jedi if he embraced _mando_ culture, isn't he?" her tone got softer as her hopes started rising.

She looked at him rubbing his temple in deep thought, worried eyes avoiding her stare in what seemed an eternity.

"It's not really what he is that bothers me. More what he's capable of." He lifted the pan from the stove to serve it on the table. "There is a relative limit to how much offense and defense systems we can carry around in a more or less fair fight. If Mandalorians were to duel or fight off a problem of any kind, it's basically how much weaponry and armor a body can carry that makes the difference. Then come racial traits, advantages, handicaps, etc. We strive to perfect ourselves to be ready for anything. Even for light sabers and the likes.

"Now take a _shakaar_ that's able to punch, choke and modify the contents of your brains with only the power of his mind, and all the blasters and thermal dets in the universe can't kill him."

It sent a chill down her spine. "Okay…"

"I don't mean to scare you, _Run'ika_, just want you to understand the stakes about dealing with certain cross-breeds."

"I'll watch my back then, _buir._" There, she said it. Just as she expected the _mando'a _term for father, mother, parent, hit home and confirmed another step for her into the new life she was headed. "But yes it's hard to trust people we don't really know. I have friends back home that are still not entirely reliable after years of living next to them. You think you know someone and then it turns out that most people lie."

"Things change on Mandalore," he grinned. "It doesn't take long for anyone to see through lies and find out the truth, that's why it's easier to just blurt everything out right away."

She turned that trail of thought in her mind and didn't feel like expressing her personal concerns regarding lies and deceit. She even knew that it was more about confidence than anything else. Time would help, she knew that too.

Later that day he left to some errands and promised to be back tomorrow before the big mission. Runa kept busy tending to her suit and weapons when Bardan came home with company: a tall man wearing red armor and a much, much smaller one that looked a lot like him, probably no more than four years old. They were introduced as Ordo and Kad. The last thing Runa was expecting to see on Mandalore were children, she just assumed people became Mandalorians in the adult age.

They sat together in the common room in a casual briefing manner with little Kad playing with miniature vehicles and figures on the carpet. Runa wouldn't brag about her ways with kids, having never given interest in the matter. But seeing him play by himself like any other normal child among four heavily armed men was mesmerizing. As crazy as it was she could somehow relate to him.

The red-clad _mando_ looked at Runa and her brother the same way Bardan did when they first met at the bar. She shielded her face with an aloof expression yet couldn't hide her mix of curiosity and confusion.

"I've seen more enthusiasm in a batch of Ugnaught slaves." He took something out of his belt pouches. "These will cheer you up: in-ear bead comms for undercover missions. We used the same all the time during the war. Top notch quality so don't lose them." Bardan who was sitting in a nearby couch couldn't stop fiddling with a data pad and small gizmos. Ordo leaned over to his side and muttered. "They're fixed, I double-checked this morning."

Runa guessed they were talking about bugs, small remote controlled microchips that managed to monitor transmissions and voice traffic. Then Kad got up to hoist himself on the couch next to Bardan and peered over to look at the data pad with real interest, as if he was able to actually solve the matter.

Bardan smiled - no, he _beamed_ at the boy in a proud fatherly way, wrapping his arm around him and even letting him press on the screen at random.

"I still have trouble grasping that algorithm. Went over it again and again but how it manages to transcribe the data is beyond me."

Ordo grinned and tapped his forehead with a gloved finger. "When you get one of these,_ Bard'ika_. Someday, perhaps."

"I suppose," Bardan continued in his technical rant, "we'll have to wait and see how it works for real. With real imperial data to leech. And if this doesn't work…"

"It'll work," insisted Ordo. He had that serious look about him that meant business only. If Runa wouldn't pick up a fight against any _mando_, he'd be the last on her list so far.

"_If_ this doesn't work," this time Bardan returned that serious glare, "we resort to the old spy method."

Ordo sighed and rubbed his chin before looking up as if suddenly realizing they had guests. Runa felt the attention drawn upon her and Devik and unconsciously straightened her back.

"Sounds like trouble," she commented.

Ordo nodded. "And not just a little. But don't worry about it: the bugs _will_ work." He checked his chrono and stood up, straight as a mast undoubtedly from a past military life. "I promised the wife I'd be home early to watch a couple of holovids. I'll see you tomorrow, _vod'e_."

Bardan grabbed his extended arm in goodbye. "How is Besany?"

"Tough as _beskar_, as always," the man proudly answered. "Who'd known for a former tax inspector?"

"Life certainly is full of surprises."

"And we all get our share." He turned to Runa and waved. "Good night, folks. Tomorrow is your big day so get some rest. You too, _Kad'ika_."

He ruffled the boy's hair and found his way out. Surprisingly she deduced that Kad wasn't directly related to Ordo despite the striking resemblance.

During dinner she wasn't short of more surprises: _Kad'ika_ could use the Force. She swore that she saw him focusing on a cup thus making it move, just one inch, with his mind. Telekinesis was the proper term for that. Nobody else seemed to have noticed and she was now burning with a question: was Kad actually Bardan's son? The thought rose a mix of confused emotions, admiration and envy. She felt a hint of disappointment, too.

So she waited the right time when she was alone with him in the kitchen, scraping the plates.

"So what happened to Kad's parents?"

He raised his blue eyes to her as if he knew what she really meant. "His father is a clone commando, now in the imperial ranks and his mother was a Jedi. She died in the last days of the war. I take care of him now and then." He finished rinsing the last of the dishes and dried his hands with a towel. "I'm teaching him to control his powers and to hide them when it isn't safe."

Again that shudder down her spine reminded her of the speech her father held about Force-using Mandalorians.

"You still use your Jedi powers?" she tried to look him straight in the eye to show her good faith but kept being distracted and awkward. "I'm a bit confused and don't know what to make of all this."

In her agitation she fiddled with the cutlery and something ripped her left palm. Before she knew that she broke skin the gray water in the sink was spotted with red drops of blood.

"Damn it," she hissed. The cut was deep and had hit a vein. Her medic training kicked in and she cleaned the wound under running water before carefully drying it with a paper towel and got to her backpack. Bardan followed her to observe her every move. She knew he was inspecting her skills, too. "I can handle this, just a little cut."

Her attempt to humor was failing now that more blood was seeping out of her hand and the antiseptic spray was nowhere to be found in the medic kit. She didn't want to use her precious bacta for a minor incident and resorted to a tight bandage. Her bigger concerns now were with possible infections and if she'll be able to use her hand the next day.

Again, she felt like failing at her task and not making the required standards to be accepted in her new, demanding family. She fought back the emotions that had brought tears to her earlier in the morning, wanting to prove that she was still physically resilient. If she cried now then she'd already lost.

But he was still there and got to a crouch in front of her. Runa watched him search her things to find the rest of her medical equipment and that way salvaged a pair of scissors, antibiotic pills and the spray canister she was looking for. Now she wasn't only weak but she was messy, too.

"You need to relax, Runa," he softly said, taking her hand and unfolding the bandage. "Nobody's here to judge you or to decide if you belong or not…" He sprayed the antiseptic on the now swollen, bleeding open flesh, added padding and replaced the dressing around it, less tightly than she had done the first time. "You asked me what I would've done if I didn't join the Mandalorians, well I did have an alternate plan." He kept her hand in his as he paused. "I wanted to become a combat medic. I heal, that's the only power I still use."

Her hand felt a little numb but the pain was definitely still there, minus the edge meaning that the bleeding had stopped. According to her experience she'd need at least hours before a cut that deep closed off.

"Did you just…"

She wanted to undo the bandage, expecting to see a miracle underneath but Bardan kept her from it. His hands were warm, strong, callous from weapons training yet still soft from wearing gloves all day long. She took his advice and breathed slowly to calm herself.

"How come you always seem to know what I'm thinking?" she murmured, a little less anxiously than she should've been.

"It's nothing like that, I only sense feelings and intentions." He let her go and started packing her things properly. "People are like open books to me, or like transmitters I just need to tune in to get to know them."

"Handy," she remarked. "Yet, it beats the purpose of socializing."

He gave her a sympathetic glance in approval. "That's probably why the ones like me don't have many friends."

So it wasn't _jedi_ anymore now. She imagined how Kad would grow up in a world where most people resented Force users, where there were obviously no institutions for education or day-care, where children could not evolve into normal, social creatures.

Bardan turned around to the door and _then_ she saw the little boy appearing at the door frame.

"Do you want to watch my holos?" he shyly asked Runa, his tiny voice heart-melting for a Force sensitive son of a warrior.

Before she could find anything to reply Bardan offered her his hand and she followed him and Kad to the main room. The house had many rooms but life as a family gave very little privacy, she noticed, and it had been a long time since she had to share space with anyone. Now she was sitting through what seemed hours of colorful animations with comical characters, intermittently laughing and timidly expecting Bardan to attempt something towards her. But none of that happened, they only enjoyed the show and made sure Kad was asleep before switching off the holovids. Bardan took Kad to a room next to his where the boy had some of his own furniture and toys. She waited for him to finish tucking him in.

"Thanks for earlier," she said hesitantly, "I'm glad we had that talk."

She felt different about him now, which would be a good thing if she wasn't apprehending whatever new aspect of his life she was going to discover next.

"Then so am I," he answered quietly. Curiously his moments of silence were more revealing than his words. Runa tried to mentally shake herself out of his blue gaze, which he of course seemed to pick up and shifted his stance. "We'll have more of those, if you want to?"

_Oh, _shab_ yes, _she thought as she wanted to grab his face to kiss him but that crazy, untamed side of her personality was always quickly restrained to the back of her consciousness. Instead, she let out a weak, shy response that killed all of her spontaneous reactions. "Okay."

She went to sleep and tried not to think of how she could've said or done things differently, as she did every night. Much more important tasks were awaiting her and she had to be ready for them, not tired and preoccupied with emotional matters. She was in a place where those things didn't need explaining, especially not for him. Now she knew that he knew what she felt, and that was one big load off her back.


	8. Chapter 8

**Keldabe, Mandalore, 1,327 days ABG**

_Stay focused, _Bard'ika_, they'll be fine. She will be fine. Let them know that._

At midday the air was damp and fog had had fallen on the city rendering it even less engaging to the casual visitor. Sitting at a diner right across the street from the Imperial Recruitment Center they were waiting and getting ready for their appointment. Jusik, wearing a hooded cloak complementing his suit, could sit without his _buy'ce_, drink a cup of caf and remain faceless without dragging attention. Other _mando'ad_ would pick up the idea for themselves, Jusik hoped.

Sitting in front of him Runa and Devik were discretely practicing with their comms devices, a difficult thing when you were munching on _uj_ cake. They wore plain outfits from local retailers and gave themselves scruffy looks. Devik had smeared stains of engine grease on himself while Runa had cut her hair short and styled it messily. Jusik remembered the day he cut his own hair to impersonate a health inspector in a psych ward and it was a liberating experience. He could be anyone to anybody and none would pick him out in a crowd. So when he saw Runa with her new hairstyle it produced the opposite effect. It was incongruous to say the least. She kept running her hands around her head like she never realized she had a skull.

They both looked incredibly out of place to Jusik. Not because they were off-worlders, they all were anyway, but their dramatically different background didn't make for the right attitude to have prior to a mission. They were secluding themselves in their doubts and fears, asking no questions, pestering each other about equipment. Their father hadn't showed up and that was one cause for their distress.

Jusik leaned forward on the table and put his authority face on, like the many times he'd done when he addressed his clone companies on the field, and carefully measured his tone. These were civilians after all, and subjecting them to military discipline would provoke loss of confidence or mutiny.

"You might expect it but this is your last chance if you want to walk out," he said quietly. "If I could take your place I would."

"Oh, _now_ you tell us this," Devik said, jesting. "It's alright, I'm actually looking forward to get out there and test my acting skills."

He looked over to Runa, waiting for her reply and as Jusik expected she searched for her words. Was it doubt? He caught himself wishing she'd drop out but she was better than that. There was no way she'd let her brother go alone.

"Two spies is better than one," she finally said.

"No spying - get in, and get out. Leave the rest to us."

"Really, you don't want us to ask a couple questions out of curiosity?"

He had to blink a few times and take a moment to picture the "interview" they'd sit through with a recruiting officer. Perhaps there was no interview, just a few psychological and medical tests and they'd be judged as apt or inapt for the service. And since it was volunteering they always had the option to cancel their file but Jusik felt something was off. It was the Force paying him a visit again.

"Ask whatever you think suits the moment."

"This shouldn't be complicated," commented Devik. "Unless our bugs get detected and they catch us pulling the beads out."

"I'll be monitoring everything with Ordo helping in case things turn sour. Remember to lay low if people become suspicious around you."

Runa smiled to him trying to look reassuring. "We'll be fine, _Bard'ika_. Though I hoped dad - _buir_ - was here to wish us luck or something."

"Nah, he knows it's a minor operation." Devik stretched his arms and got up. Runa checked her chrono and followed her brother. "Time to roll."

"You mean role? Like in role play…"

Jusik walked with them out on the street, placing his helmet back on his head so as to perform a last comm check. Once everything was in order he wished them luck. He clasped forearms with Devik but just couldn't do the same with Runa. He stood in front of her and held her hands.

"Want to learn to do a _Keldabe kiss_?"

"Um… yeah?" she hesitated, amused.

He carefully touched her forehead with his helmet which sent a round of chuckles. However that comical move tipped off the fragile balance of emotions that gave him inner peace. He had dared cross the line of attachment long ago when joining the Mandalorians, and now he was going even further. This was _losing himself _and it made him feel fear. This was textbook dark side.

They parted and he walked to his speeder to ride back to base and that last thought didn't plague him as much as it would have in the past. It was a state of mind, a moment of vulnerability that made him care more; from his point of view there was no point in fighting it. The mission went on and so did the war, they would all have to make sacrifices to make it count.

While driving he heard the first words exchanged by the siblings inside the Recruitment Center. Apparently they were asked to wait in a room and they got silent for about five minutes until Devik's voice rose.

"It's a pity you're enlisting in the army, that guy out there was really into you."

Runa giggled and it was the most distracting sound. Jusik kept his focus on the waypoint floating in his HUD, telling him where to go.

"He is really nice," Runa answered, and her voice was somewhat shaky, aware of the audio monitoring. "I might give this one a shot."

"Well, how many times have you met a _mando'ad_ your age, not stupid and not ugly?"

Jusik repressed a laugh under his helmet, and decided to interject in their conversation.

"Thank you very much, Devik. You aren't that bad yourself." He stirred away from a bundle of rocks on the ground, keeping an eye on the vehicle tracking radar.

"And he's funny. If you don't take him Runa, I will."

Jusik had to hand it to the young man for maintaining a level tone. Odds were they were being recorded on holosurveillance cameras for behavior analysis but that didn't alert his senses. They were doing alright.

**Imperial Base, Mandalore**

Wasn't it for the light signals of the battery towers no one could guess there was a fortified military base just outside the woods.

Hiding in the forest was the makeshift camp made out of camouflage netting Ordo had installed earlier that day. It had a complete surveillance workstation, armor, ammunitions and gunnery at disposal. He was sitting in front of a screen showing schematics of the base and audio rendering on the side. The conversation he'd been listening to was mildly entertaining yet a little too relaxed for an undercover mission. The Zanim siblings seemed to be able to handle their task however, so he had no reason to complain. _Bard'ika_ appeared to like them, too. He lifted his red _buy'ce_ off as he entered the tent.

"Interesting chat I've heard."

"As you were, _Captain_." Jusik said sharply before setting his equipment bag next to the camp armory. "Is the Dust working?"

"Yes, _General_. Signals are weak but I'm picking them up."

Dust was microscopic powder-like transmitters developed by the GAR that Jusik stole at the time terrorist units of the Separatists had infiltrated Coruscant. He had sprayed Runa and Devik with them for tracking purposes.

He pulled his helm off to reveal a rather preoccupied face under scruffy blond hair. At least he had shaved his beard clean, Ordo thought.

"Once they're taken to the base we'll get better tracking," he said.

"Were you serious about going there yourself if you could?"

He returned a perplexed look. "Why wouldn't I be? They had to know it's not an easy ride."

"The Empire's taking care of them now."

Their signal was getting closer now, the two blinking dots moving across the map at a steady pace. Their comms were still online but none of them were talking. They had company in the transport; Ordo thought he heard another voice in the background.

Then Jusik reached for his bead-sized comm and inserted it in his ear, he seemed agitated which was very unlike him.

"Is there something wrong, _Bard'ika_?"

After five years of knowing him as a friend and brother in arms Ordo almost forgot that he was also a Jedi. When Jedi became aloof and distant, it was caused by their sixth sense called the Force that spoke to them in "bad feelings" or "something familiar". It was easy to ignore the part that you didn't or couldn't understand in someone, especially when it came to family.

Jusik sniffled and rubbed the tip of his nose with his gloved hand. "I'm just a little worried, that's all there is."

Ordo remembered seeing the young woman with the sniffles as well the other night, his mind didn't need a long time to do the math. If Besany had to be on a similar operation he imagined he would be troubled as well.

The audio feed transmitted sounds of doors hissing open and many footsteps crunching ice and snow, then hitting hard permacrete floors. Ambient noises and electrical humming told they were indoors now.

A mechanical voice spoke, a cyborg droid most likely.

"Please proceed to your assigned desks while your examinations are being prepared. Good luck."

The Dust signal showed that they were now on a lower floor of the base, in a small room where Ordo assumed was the psychological test. Other sources brought him more details about it: a simple form to fill, choosing one out of multiple answers per question. It made sure the applicants knew how to read and count, and could tell the difference between obedience and insubordination. The next step consisted of basic physical ability tests and measurements. During that phase Runa and Devik had to make sure their bugs were safely stored to avoid damaging. The final step, and Ordo hoped they didn't have to get to that, was a long speech for indoctrination purposes. It was hard to believe that any grown up person could be "brainwashed" by anything. As a clone Ordo had been fed with data since before his birth but that didn't make him a puppet, he had been his own man for as far as he recalled. And clones had perfect recall so he knew he had made his own decisions all of his life.

The Zanims were going to take their physical exams now. While waiting in line to enter the medical ward they exchanged thoughts about their quiz test stating the amount of rubbish they saw and the level of randomness they used to answer it. Runa sneezed which caused high static on the feed, then she adjusted the bead in her ear because it must've moved.

"Be careful with that," Jusik said in her channel. "They can spot the wire."

"Okay."

He cringed. "And don't reply to me."

"Okay, what?" Devik asked her.

"I'm… ready for the next tests?"

"You're weird," humored her brother. "They don't recruit freaks in the Stormtrooper Corps."

"Then I'll be a pilot."

Ordo resumed studying the three-dimensional map of the building while Jusik sat back, arms folded across his breastplate in some sort of rumination.

"You like her," he stated after a minute. "Have you told her yet?"

He breathed in slowly and held his stare before answering, all seriousness. "We barely know each other, and in the current circumstances it doesn't seem appropriate."

"_Ner vod_, no circumstance is ever appropriate in this line of work. Though I saw the way she looked at you yesterday. Seems like the real deal to me."

"She's an artist." He leaned on the desk and rested his chin in his hand in a thoughtful pose. "Painting and picture art. And quite talented too."

"So you envy her because she still has a choice," Ordo speculated, turning away from the screen. "The choice to stay away from all this mess, or to become a warrior and risk her life for a cause."

"I wouldn't call it envy…"

"Because you like her." He felt like repeating himself. Ordo could easily relate to his friend's situation from the day he realized he was falling for the beautiful Coruscanti tax inspector that was working undercover for _Kal'buir_. It was all confusion between rational and emotional. Thankfully his single-minded, goal-oriented attitude made the process easier to live through. Jusik on the other hand had many ghosts and demons to confront. "You want her to be safe, that's completely normal. But then again there is no _safe_ here. The best you can do is to teach her to be stronger, that's the best protection there is."

Jusik's eyes were lost somewhere between the display monitor and the tent drapes. It was the first time Ordo had seen him in such a helpless condition since the death of Etain Tur-Mukan.

Runa and Devik had switched their comms off during the physical tests and once they had them back on they were still panting slightly. They had run for ten minutes and progressed around obstacles.

"Did you pass?" asked Runa.

"Wasn't so bad," Devik said, a little less exhausted. "I guess we'll have to wait after the Imperial Speech. Did you retrieve your belongings as they instructed?"

So they'd had to change clothing in some storage. Ordo scrolled around the map to find the locker room in the medical ward.

"Wait here I forgot my belt."

"_Fierfek_, Runa!"

Ordo knew that siblings could become irritated at each other as could all people stuck together for a long period of time, but he hadn't expected the Zanims to be prone to stress-induced anxiety so quickly. He made a mental note of that in case he were to work with them again.

They saw Runa's signal moving towards the lockers and stopping in front of one. They heard her opening a metallic casing and she breathed hard. Her belt was holding the bugs meant to spy on imperial data.

"Oh no… It's not here anymore."

"Runa," Jusik said, all calm and confidence restored in his voice. "Look around you and cough if you see someone or anything."

"There's nobody."

"Okay, good. Now, stay calm and walk towards your next trial. Once they work out who that belt belongs to you'll have to get out of there."

Her breathing went slightly faster, proportionally to her heart rate which translated stress and fear. Jusik closed his eyes and kept speaking.

"You'll be fine, Runa. Don't worry."

She progressed a little faster towards an elevator and reached the upper floor where she met Devik's position in a large room. There they heard someone speaking about the might of the Galactic Empire and all the good things new recruits could bring once they joined, then more statements about how they were doing the right choice. The assumed recruiting officer then asked the applicants to move to their assigned interview rooms.

Devik entered his first and sat while waiting for his questioning.

"So, young man. What did you think of all of this?"

"I didn't expect much before getting here but I'm satisfied with the process. I want to join the Stormtrooper Corps."

"The Corps is reserved for the best of the best, but you must be aware of that." The man paused, but not for long. "Your physical stats match the requirements, you're cut out for the job! And this is your lucky day because a shuttle is just about to leave for your training grounds."

"Wait, don't I have time to think this over?"

"You can spend that time shooting things and wearing armor, can't you?"

"Well--"

"Splendid! Here's your certificate, sign here. You're now a proud soldier of the Galactic Empire."

"You guys certainly don't waste time."

"We do, when recruits don't show up."

"It must be hard around here, isn't it?"

"Young man, the travel of your life awaits. Take this token and proceed to the docking bay at ground level."

Ordo and Jusik sat speechless before tuning in to Devik's channel.

"You can't board that ship, use the refreshers or something," Jusik said.

They waited for him to be in a secure room although it wasn't guaranteed that the restrooms were clean of wires.

"What if they wait for me and catch me on the way out?" Devik whispered.

Ordo imagined himself in that position and thought about his liability if he went on with the enlisting and waited for a better occasion to bail. If Devik dragged attention to himself it might allow Runa to get off the radar, so to speak.

"I want to see this through," Devik said in a dangerously determined voice. "They're going to ship me to their training grounds, and we don't know where that is yet, am I right?"

"It's Carida," Jusik said after a silence. "But once you get there you'll be unable to contact us at all."

"I'll find a way." He flushed and they heard water running. "Take care of my sister, Bardan."

Devik clicked his teeth and shut off his comms.

"That was bold and stupid," Ordo snapped. He monitored Runa's position who had moved to another lower level which was not in the recruiting area. "Where is she going?"

Her comm channel was offline and she was still moving at a regular walking speed to what looked like a sealed zone to finally stop in a much, much smaller room than any other in the building.

Jusik jumped to his feet and pulled his bead out, turned it off manually and following his lead, Ordo switched his station off and grabbed his helmet. Runa had been captured.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ord Mantell, Trader's Quarter**

"Biran, I met someone."

He stared blankly at Ullia, his former wife and mother of his children, unable to react accordingly to her announcement.

"If it's money you need that's no problem anymore, _cyar'ika_."

She lifted a hand up to stop him. "Don't call me that. I made my own choices in this life and it's not the right time to turn around."

"Then when is?"

At his great disappointment she sighed and turned her back to him, tending to her shrubs at the window. The night was falling with a sweet shade of purple and red in the sky. Ullia hadn't changed much since he first met her; of course her body wasn't all that slender anymore but she kept her hair black and held down. He knew that she still kept him in her heart and it showed each time he'd pop by to see his kids, she just never admitted it. So now it was hard to believe her.

"I never wanted things to end up like this, Ullia. Now I'm trying all I can to make my children happy and I need you around for that. Will you forgive me?"

"The last time I _tried_ coping with you I felt useless, denied and weak. How do you think I can help when I feel that way?"

Biran squeezed the bridge of his nose with gloved fingers when he heard the bleep of his comms inside his helmet. Now wasn't the time. He fought to come up with another argument to convince her.

"Aren't you gonna take that call?"

When they used to live together Ullia would help him clean his armor and fix certain parts when needed. To realize they had been that close and now come that far apart was always a sting.

"Listen, there is this shady boy that Runa is getting messed up with and she might need your help about it…"

"Good for you, Biran. You deserve some slack from parenting."

"_Again_ with the sarcasm!"

_Bleep… Bleep… _

He finally put his helmet on and recognized Jusik's hasty but firm voice.

"You need to get back here asap. Devik just got drafted and Runa's MIA."

"What the _shabla_ hell are you talking about?"

"Biran, we didn't wait for you to start the mission--"

"Are you saying that you have no idea whether my children are alive or dead?"

He grabbed Ullia's arm and forcefully pulled her out of the house. She protested but he didn't have time for explanations.

"I'm on my way now," he told Jusik, promising himself he'd show the kid how to mess with his family and in the mean time he had to reason their mother. "Ullia, call this a coincidence or fate, but Runa and Devik are in danger. Don't tell me you have something keeping you here now."

She sharply pulled herself out of his grip and he stopped to wait for her to make a final tantrum.

"I trusted you to watch over them," she hissed, all rage contained but ready to burst. "What is going on?"

"_Now_ we get to talk. They have gone to investigate an imperial outpost but at latest reports they got caught. I'll fill you in with the details once we're on the move."

Once last fierce glance later she went to pack her things and he got to go home with what he'd wanted from the beginning: a reunited family, _mando _or not. He only needed to save his children's lives now.

The flight to Mandalore took hours, the longest he had lived in his life. Of course in a combat situation time seemed stretched but actions made each second count. While sitting on a chair however, it was hours subtracted from the odds of seeing his kids alive again. His only consolation was to have Ullia by his side while they shared their worries even if she silently accused him. She didn't even seem all that outraged at the bombshell he dropped when revealing his past as a military instructor for the Grand Army.

For as far as he remembered she was _mandokarla_. He had even ordered a set of armor made for her but she never got around to wear it and he never saw it again. Perhaps she sold it to some merc on Ord Mantell or had it destroyed. His only explanation was that Ullia never wanted to be part of anything, some form of rebellion that he either loved or hated in her.

He got tempted to land directly on the imperial outpost, trash everything with a few missiles and storm the buildings in search of Runa and Devik. It could work if the Empire was a gang of spice smuggling thugs and if he was that stupid. Ullia could shoot guns and knew the basics of combat in case he needed her help but that was out of the question; he wouldn't live with himself if he put even her in danger.

As they landed at Jusik's homestead Biran gave a warm coat to his former wife before opening the hatch, and braced himself for more bad news.

There were more people inside, and as he expected, all had their armor and weapons equipped, ready for a hunt. He recognized a clone, one of the Null ARCs that Skirata used as his private militia under the GAR. They had a stronger build and stood taller than the regular clones. The man was fourteen, Biran calculated, but in terms of normal lifespan years that made him twenty-eight if not thirty. This meant that the aging acceleration was still in effect and that Skirata's boys hadn't found a remedy yet.

Jusik was sitting deep in concentration over a holo-projection of a map while another clone was pointing out escape routes with a stylus. When he saw him and Ullia entering the room he rose and politely introduced himself, eyes weary from stress. She nodded and told her name in return. Then it dawned on Biran that he completely forgot to tell her about the young man. It would have to wait.

"Tell me the last events before you lost contact," Biran asked.

"They lost the bugs, Runa went to look for them and got sidetracked. Devik got rushed in the recruitment process and decided to _see it through_. I told him not to but he'd made up his mind... An imperial shuttle took him to Carida three hours ago."

Devik had always been an overachiever. As a father it was something to be proud of but right now he just wanted this nightmare to end.

"What about Runa?"

"Her signal is moving between the detention center and another location," Jusik said on an even tone. That was _Jedi General Jusik_ speaking. He then looked over Biran's shoulder to see Ullia then lost a bit of his composure. "We think it's an interrogation room."

She gasped loudly and looked at everyone in the room. "You have to get her out of there!"

"We're working on it," said the Null in red armor. He had a couple of blaster pistols at his sides and a repeating assault rifle slung on his back. "But without the bugs active we're lacking a lot of precious intel so we could be heading into an enormous trap right now."

Biran was struggling to keep his cool and hearing more excuses for not rescuing his daughter in time just made it harder.

"And so, the rules of engagements are…? This is not the Republic anymore, _vod_. We have to show them what we're made of. You don't mess with _mando'ade_."

"I beg to differ." It was the other clone, he looked a little younger than the Null, and wore gray and red armor. "We started messing with them so now they have the upper ground. We don't have the ethical advantage."

Biran cussed between his teeth and refrained from banging his head against the nearest wall though it might have helped. "So what's the plan, if you even have one?"

"Set another trap," the Null replied, then nodded in direction of Jusik. "We got leverage and a free entry access with that."

The blond young man standing next to him, arms crossed looked to the floor. "You're going to turn me in; that'll get you through the first security lines."

"Turn you in?" Ullia repeated, appalled. "Why? What have you done?"

Biran thought it was as good a moment as any to drop the philosophical bomb into the mess.

"Our friend Bardan here forgot to tell us that he's not just a war veteran, but a Jedi Knight. A traitor to the Empire, that's why he's valuable to us now." He inspected the effects to see her in an even more upset mood. "Of course regardless of how tempting it is to turn him in, I'm afraid it would attract unwanted attention onto us."

He could almost feel the gaze of everyone directed on him and waited for the first disapproval to express itself.

"No, you can't do that." Ullia stepped forward to place herself between him and Jusik. "I may not be a warrior but I've heard things, people talk about this new empire. I heard the Jedi were being purged and that troopers were ordered to kill on sight, am I right? What if they don't capture you. What if they just _execute _you as soon as they get you?"

"Oh," Biran added. "That sounds about right. Except that we aren't left with many other options."

Jusik leaned closer to Ullia and used some of his charisma to reason her.

"We need to take a risk otherwise we won't get a chance to save Runa." He paused because he couldn't lift his eyes up anymore due to what Biran saw as overwhelming emotion. "I can take care of myself, she's the priority now."

"As both her and Devik should have been since the beginning of this _shabla_ plan."

"Biran," Ullia turned to him with her face full of tears. "Let them do their job."

"I'm taking over the operations from now, sorry." He went over to the holo-projector and downloaded the data to his helmet's system.

He felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder but didn't bother turning around.

"Ullia, please just calm down and let me do this."

"It's time we had a talk." It was Jusik. How could he be that confused and distracted? "Outside, _now_."

There wasn't much room left for choice. Biran complied if only to get it over with and perhaps get to an understanding with the boy that he wasn't in charge anymore. Or he'd have his chance to express what he really felt about his kind. Jusik nodded at the Null on his way out, he was about to follow them.

Once outside they were greeted with an icy wind and the glare of the setting sun blinded Biran. Jusik stood with fists on his hips and stared at the ground for a moment.

"I believe we can find a common ground, but we have to work together."

"My apologies if I have a hard time believing what I'm seeing." Biran looked him up and down. "You _jetiise_ believe in nothing other than your own powers. People like us - anybody who don't adhere to your ethics mean nothing. This is what I think, Jusik: you get your kicks at this game of deception. Being the only Jedi wearing _beskar_, that must feel pretty awesome."

He expected him to look smug and unbothered by the attack, instead he just stood there staring at the horizon, like a sad and tired man.

"It does," he eventually said. "But once you know it's a reality, that most people in the galaxy pose no threat to you, it changes everything. Now tell me…" He reached behind his back and revealed a metallic cylinder that looked all too familiar to Biran. The emerald-colored beam of light ignited in a piercing shriek, and Jusik lifted it in the air menacingly. "Why do you think I still have this?"

"Oh, I know this one." He tried to ignore the humming of the deadly laser blade. "This is where you prove to me that you'll kill anything on your path to get what you want. Or you'll slice my head off but that would be stupid, Runa would kill you then."

"No." He turned it off. "This keeps me in line. I built it because I vowed to protect the innocent, that was no choice of mine, it's a responsibility. Carrying it is the only way to live with myself."

"So this is why you won't back down. You think it's your duty to save my daughter and… in extension to that, earn my trust. Well that worked on my ex-wife, but if we're going any further together I'm going to expect nothing but outstanding work and transparency."

He heard engines that started running, a speeder moved out of the bunker-like hangar with the clones onboard. Jusik walked in their direction while talking.

"I know you blame me for what's gone wrong so far, and you'd be right. So you have to let me fix it."

They got in the back seats of the vehicle and it went off towards what Biran guessed was the outpost.

"What did you leave Ullia to?"

"She insisted on staying home," replied the younger clone. "We gave her a link and a remote tracking monitor. Curiously she didn't want to be in the way."

"No that's sounds like her. What's your name by the way, son?"

"I'm Fi and that's Ordo."

The Null nodded in a silent greeting. "So it looks like we're all going to get along, aren't we?"

Biran felt bad about judging Jusik right then. The boy really fought for himself out there while they all had bigger concerns. Defending his morals at the cost of looking stupid, it was so much what Jedi did.

"We're good," Biran replied. "Putting our differences aside for a higher purpose."

"That's what I like to hear," Ordo cheered in his helmet.

Jusik equipped his own _buy'ce_, adjusted the straps on his leg plates and loading his Verpine rifle, as methodically as a soldier prepping for battle. Biran did the same and took the quiet opportunity to memorize the blue prints of the outpost. It was an exercise he had a little more trouble doing as each year that passed but as a team or squad he couldn't let his age fail his comrades.

The red faintly blinking dot told where Runa was located at that moment.

"Do we have her vitals?" he asked.

"That tracker doesn't provide them," said Jusik. He paused a moment, head tilted down. "But I sense she's alive."

"Good to know," interjected Fi.

Something pinched at Biran's heart, although not because he felt embarrassed at bashing Jusik earlier for being a mystic. From his readings he learned that Jedi could detect life forms and have spiritual connections with sentient beings, especially the ones related to them personally. So, Jusik had that link with his daughter which meant that he cared. But did he care enough to break his code and risk falling to the dark side? Would he really sacrifice his own life for her?

Biran would, and he found himself hoping Jusik would make the wiser decision.


	10. Chapter 10

**Imperial outpost**

It was like nothing she'd lived before. If she tried to remember the worst ever things she had to endure, nothing could really compare. Runa never had any broken bones or bad accidents in her life. So when they activated the nodes connected to her hands, neck and head all she could focus on was the pain. The straps on the chair kept her from flailing and convulsing to the floor so she clenched her teeth hard trying not to bite her tongue and just counted the seconds until the shocks stopped.

It was her second session now and she tried remembering the face of her torturers: a couple of masked troopers wearing the new, modified white clone armor and a human officer wearing an olive drab uniform with a triangular hat. She couldn't read his rank, it had two bars so she guess a lieutenant or captain. Captain of interrogation?

"All of this can end if you just tell us who you're working for," he said in a tired, soft voice.

He looked in his thirties, had gray eyes and black hair but she couldn't remember his name. He probably never told her.

"I don't work for anyone," she panted. "It's not work…"

"Then who sent you?"

Thinking became hard. Runa guessed that the point of exhausting her brain was to let honesty kick in because thinking of a lie was too much of a hassle after a while. Another shock. She lost her train of thought.

"Who sent you here?" repeated the officer.

"…I don't know…"

Well, in fact she wasn't sure who really decided on sending her and Devik to play spies. Was it Bardan or Skirata? Or even that clone? It could have been her father as well.

The man touched her knee and it felt like an assault.

"Admirable efforts to protect your friends, but at this pace I don't think you'll survive long enough to see your rescuers. I've seen much tougher subjects… It's a wonder why they picked you to come here."

That stung. She was hurting too much to fight off tears so she just let them roll down her face.

"I'll tell you why they picked you: they don't think you're fit to fight. This is a suicide mission, darling. So here's what I offer you: give me one name and I'll let you live."

She thought of Devik, and the last time she saw him was at the medical ward and he had said mean things. She didn't know where he was now and focused her mind on finding him. If he'd been caught the lieutenant or captain would have told her that for mind-breaking purposes.

She could feel her pulse pounding in her head, blood almost boiling under her skin and sweat stinging her eyes. Her bowels were about to give way and she knew, for the first time in her life, that death was just around the next electric shock.

When he was about to press the button again she lost it and cried like a baby.

"It's easy, just tell me one name," he said victoriously.

If she told her name Devik would be in danger. If she told Bardan's name then she might never see him again. She could still feel his presence from that night when he held her hand, her mind found comfort in that memory.

"Well?" the man insisted. "What's it going to be?"

She could live and hope to see a rescue party, or die never knowing true happiness. The choice was clear to her now.

"Skirata."

They let her rest in her cell but the part of her brain that allowed her to sleep was not complying. The man's words still rang in her head making her feel bad about what she just did: betraying a man she barely knew and who only meant well for his family. She sobbed from nervous breakdown for what seemed like hours until she went over to the sink and cleaned herself as best as she could. Standing was not easy when everything was spinning around her so she lied down on the floor hoping it would stop or at least slow down.

A part of her hoped that whoever was watching the surveillance feed from her cell would come to her aid, but a more rational voice told her to quit being miserable and to get on her feet. Devik would be that kind of person if he were in her shoes. He'd find a way out of there.

So she waited. They could come and get her for an execution now that they had the information they needed, but she wasn't leaving without a fight. Once she recovered her balance and a clear mind she sat up straight and stretched her aching arms. Her muscles were rusty but she still remembered a few close combat moves from self-defense classes that she attended years ago.

Boots clanked on the metallic floor in the hall. Runa's heart jumped, she stood with her back against the wall and waited for the door to hiss open. She saw a food tray and black gloved hands holding it, so she grabbed one, pulled it forward and swung her elbow straight at the masked face of the trooper. He yelped in his amplifier and the metallic tray fell to the floor but Runa knew the fight wasn't over. Much to her dislike the soldier was much taller and heavier than she was, so it took more effort than she expected when she attempted to lock his arm and pin him down. That was the plan and of course she ended up struggling for too long and found herself slammed against the opposing wall. The man was _strong_, and it hurt her already weakened bones when he punched her in the face and thorax. She knew she had it coming but wanted to call a truce and talk it out. Obviously there was no rule for that kind of brawl so the armored man kept beating her up until she was lying flat on the floor.

She looked unconscious so he left, probably upset for not being thanked since he brought her sustenance. Why did they let her live?

There was a loud blast, so powerful that she felt the floor vibrating against her face. She heard her assaulter running passed her cell door then coming back, screaming something in his comlink, then blaster firing covered his voice. He was being chased.

Her door hissed open again and she saw white boots hastily entering; he tried picking her up but he pressed on her ribcage and she cried from the pain, also realizing that her mouth was filled with blood and one of her teeth had moved. The soldier then pulled her legs intending to drag her but he suddenly dropped her feet and a loud hum made him gasp before the sound of his body hit the floor. She smelled blood - mostly her own - and burnt flesh.

Runa then heard footsteps in her cell and a curious electric hiss over her head. She tried looking up but it was a blur of green and brown. Gloved hands touched her face and pulled her eyelid down to check for eye response.

"You're gonna be okay Runa, just hang in there." The disembodied voice was breathing heavily.

"I can't… move," she managed to mutter. "Broken… something."

"Two ribs and your left wrist are broken according to my scan. You can walk. Now get up!"

He was one of the Mandalorians and she recognized that tone, she felt the urge to be strong and overcome her pain. He helped her to her feet with a supporting arm around her back, and even though her injuries still made her complain she found that she could walk quite fast.

There was suddenly a lot of things going on but she only registered herself being half carried across a dark hallway and walking over inert bodies on the ground. She noticed cauterized wounds from blaster shots, some larger than others, burned white armor plates and… limbs. She wondered who was using blades when most people had rifles and pistols. The sight of one particular head cleanly detached from the rest of its body made her hurl. Not because she was weak in the stomach, she just wished she hadn't recognized those gray eyes.

They came to a room with a lot of smoke and more dead people around. She saw colored _beskar_ and T-visor helmets. They were three, four of them with her rescuer and they gestured towards the elevators without saying a thing. When they all clumped inside the elevator she understood that she just couldn't hear what they were saying because their helmets were soundproofed. They were probably yelling at each other or counting kills. She was missing out on great action, and shamefully felt like sitting down.

As she had trouble keeping her eyes open someone put a bottle against her lips so she could drink. It was water but it tasted like more blood down her throat.

The elevator stopped at an upper level, and when they walked out of it she saw more white armors and olive green uniforms. They shot their blasters, red laser bolts. Runa squinted and tried to cover her face - a stupid reflex since that wouldn't save her at all - but she got blinded with a green light that shrieked to life and threw all the blaster bolts away from her. A lightsaber. The laser blade scared the wits out of her but never seemed to get too close, it was like a shield.

She looked at Bardan only to see his green and gold helmet as he batted off incoming fire. A _mando'ad_ using a Jedi weapon, that's what he was to her right then.

More armored bodies fell and they started pressing forward. One man in red armor, Runa thought his name was Ordo, signaled to them before throwing something towards their enemies. Bardan got her to a crouch and spun around in front of her.

"Cover your ears."

She couldn't see the explosion but the muffled detonation was enough to give her a hint of the amplitude. Bardan held her up again and they ran straight ahead. They stopped facing a bulkhead and he handed her his blaster.

"Stand clear while I make a shortcut."

As bad as she wanted to watch him use his saber as a metal cutter she had her own job to do so she held the blaster in direction of the hallway. She had never shot a living being before but until that day she never got shocked nor punched either. The hissing of melting alloy ended and Bardan kicked the wall down. There was a room behind it, and it looked like the medical ward.

From what she remembered that part of the base was only occupied by droids, perhaps he knew that too, and they proceeded through it without problems. It was as if the building had been deserted.

"Wait… We have to wait for the others," Runa said, worried about being cut off.

Bardan stopped, then found a room but it was locked. He waved his hand over the door console and it opened. Runa would have expressed amazement in better circumstances. He sat her on the medical bed inside and started rummaging for supplies.

"They're clearing the way around," he said, then sighed. "Are you all right?"

She caught her breath and nodded. "Yeah, just in pain."

He found stims and a bacta injector. He shot the bacta through her sleeve and kept the stims in his belt pouch. Then he inspected her face. She looked back at him but all she could see was the black of his visor.

"What happened to my brother?" she asked. "Do you know?"

"He went on with the recruitment and got shipped to the training grounds. We lost contact then."

"No…" she tried to shake her head but her spine disapproved by cracking alarmingly. "Why did he do that?"

"I couldn't change his mind," Bardan whispered. "I'm sorry."

Runa just couldn't believe it, that Devik had been indoctrinated that quickly after all that happened since they landed on Mandalore. He was lost now, she knew that she had very little chances to ever see him again.

Bardan froze for a moment, nodding to unheard voices, as she guessed he was talking to the team. "Time to go," he told her.


	11. Chapter 11

It was one big hallway with not much to use for cover and different entry points for enemy reinforcements to slow them down. Ordo's thermal det had cleared half a dozen men - not his brothers, he didn't see these soldiers that way anymore - and now they had the alarm calling all units down to their position.

He stood guard while Fi worked on a package against an elevator shaft. There were three more all designed to detonate simultaneously.

"Just two more minutes," he said in a relaxed tone.

Ordo raised his rifle in direction of the hall ahead of them, expecting the next back-up teams. Their elder counterpart Zanim faced the opposite direction, heaving dramatically but much like _Kal'buir_ he could hold his own.

"I can hear movement," Ordo signaled.

"And they're up for a surprise," Fi added and readied his weapon. "There, let's blast out of here."

"Or shall we leave before you decide to blast anything…"

He admired Fi's ability to remain upbeat after what had happened to him only a few years ago; brain trauma was the worst that could happen to a soldier. Arms and legs could be replaced with bionics, but not the brain. He had gone from a vegetative state to a full motor and mental recovery thanks to his friends and Bardan's Force healing. That was nothing short of a miracle, he thought.

They moved swiftly down the corridors until they reached an armored door, there were no other exits on the map, this meant ambush, going out of ammo and energy packs, surrendering. He saw a terminal in a wall panel.

"Sweet, more obstacles."

"Let me rig this console to abort the security lockdown."

He shouldered his Verp and started working on bypass commands and hacking procedures.

"Uh… isn't that going to take a lot of time?" Fi objected. "This new imperial coding is fairly new from what I gathered."

Ordo turned his helmet around. "I have a translator."

"Just do what you have to do." It was Zanim. Ordo hadn't heard his voice for the last ten minutes, he sounded exhausted. "Jusik, we'll be out there a little later than what we planned. Are you in the clear?"

There was a crack in the comms before they heard Bardan's voice.

"Copy that, Biran. And yes, we're in a secure medical room."

"Good job, _ad'ika_. Can you say how many bad guys are left on this floor?"

A pause. Ordo finished entering his command sequence and pressed the "execute" key.

"Two groups of five heading your way from the south and east halls."

The unlocking mechanism clinked and the door opened, even the alarm stopped. In ten minutes' time the emergency back-up recovery would seal everything off again.

They met with eight, then ten troopers on their way to the stairwell.

"Bardan," Ordo called in his comm while providing cover fire. "We're approaching the emergency exit. Security systems are down, prepare to move."

"This could be a great blasting opportunity."

"Hit it, Fi!"

He pressed the remote detonator and the entire floor shook. The enemy targets now dazed and distracted couldn't dodge fire and so they fell easily. Fi rejoiced with a high pitched cheer then praised the qualities of a new brand of explosives. With troopers out of their hair they met the rendez-vous point at one end of the medical aisle: Bardan appeared in the hallway, still supporting Runa who was holding her right side, looking beyond tired. Ordo thought _internal injuries_ in addition to her beaten state: half of her face was bruised, she couldn't open her right eye, and her left wrist certainly did not look all right.

"A few flights of stairs and we're out of here," he told them on the amplified channel, motioning towards the emergency door with his gun.

Climbing up stairs with almost half his weight in armor and equipment, _and _with a partially incapacitated civilian at your side was no easy feat. Ordo couldn't help Bardan go any faster so all he could do was keep an eye on his six until they reached ground level and found their way out.

The base seemed abandoned because they'd drawn a lot of attention down in the detention block. Fi's work on the elevators afterwards had locked most of them below but there were more around the buildings ready for them if they didn't hurry up.

It was night time, seeing the sky was always a good sign - for Ordo it meant looking out for a lift, mostly in the form of a LAAT/i gunship like in the war. Now they had to find another way to leave because walking or running three miles with an injured prisoner was out of the question. He spotted one at the docking bay.

"_Ori'jate_!" cheered Fi. "And we _so_ lack the credentials to commandeer this thing."

"It gets the job done." A _Lambda_ class T-4a certainly did, it could carry three times their number and even had weapons systems.

Ordo headed in first clearing every corner until he reached the cockpit. There was a young man dressed in a black uniform sitting at the controls. He was in his twenties or less, reading something on his data pad. He turned around, stunned, but was too slow to pull out his pistol. Ordo shot him in the chest and dragged his body down to the boarding ramp while Runa stopped on her path to watch him do so.

"Ship comes with accessories," Ordo explained awkwardly. "He got in the way."

She nodded hesitantly while Bardan waited for her. Of course it was always easier for civilians to accept casualties when they couldn't see their faces, or when they all dressed the same and looked a little older. Then they'd stop and wrap their minds around one who looked a bit different to imagine what it'd be like if he had survived, if he could've become their friend.

Ordo punched the boarding ramp mechanism closed and went inside the cargo area while the engines started screaming.

*

They made it. Jusik repeated it to himself again as he watched the rear viewport cam feed seeing the outpost growing smaller and smaller below. They received a hit from the turrets but most of the shots flew by, flashing red light inside the cockpit. He took the shuttle to a low altitude and flew different directions before heading home, a basic evasive strategy to discourage possible pursuers. A few minutes later and he could breathe, pulling his helmet off to brush his face clean of the sweat that built up during the action.

"Are you okay there, _Bard'ika_?" it was Ordo's voice sitting next to him on the co-pilot's seat. "Look, I got you a new ship. You won't have to do your groceries in that ugly Aggressor now."

"Thanks. Now I get to choose what kind of conspicuous I want to go with."

"Special ships for special people," he placed his helmet on the command frame and sat back, enjoying the ride. His face was closed though, Jusik felt his concern. "Runa will be fine, _vod'ika_. She's gonna need time to heal those bruise and tough up, thanks to you of course."

He felt his throat swell and he couldn't answer for a moment. Her father was looking after her in the back of the ship and that was for the best, Jusik didn't feel like facing her right then.

"I did this to her," he managed to say. "Her brother's gone and she got tortured, because I asked them to help."

"_Udesii_." Take it easy, Ordo said. "It was their decision, you remember when they were the ones insisting to do this. What other choices did we have?"

"We don't have much left now." He lowered the shuttle into a clearing in the woods near his house. "We destroyed an imperial base, released their prisoner and stole their property. The chain of command won't be long to take repressive action against the entire planet."

It was the biggest _osik_ he had ever been in; making it obvious to any survivor from the attack that there was a Jedi in the lot of Mandalorians, word would spread and he'd have a priority bonus added to his bounty. He began to make a mental list of the places he'd qualify as "safe".

They walked home, and in the darkness of the night it felt like going on another field operation. None spoke until they arrived to relative safety and just sat down in the main room, getting back to the usual here-and-now. Life went on after combat and they needed the quiet transition.

Ullia got to see her daughter for what seemed like the first time in years and Jusik watched the somewhat partial family reunion with bitter envy. Runa was now half disfigured and crippled by her injuries, she hugged her mother and collapsed into tears. Both her parents were together now, and that was one good thing coming out of the tragedy.

Jusik retreated to his room to give them some space and he tended to his armor, changed to plain clothes that he used as fatigues then unloaded his blaster. He hadn't fired one round that day. He unclipped his belt and took the lightsaber off of it, clenching it tightly. Could he remember the faces of the people he killed with it? Or even their number? He dropped it in a drawer, refusing to look at it because it wasn't the weapon, it was the one who wielded it that appalled him.

He sat on his bed and breathed in deeply, trying to relax and maybe find some kind of relief if he could cry as well. The tears just wouldn't come, all he felt was anger and guilt. His mind wasn't conditioned for self-pity, only preparation and learning from the mistakes he'd done. He recalled every moment when he had to make a decision that implied putting others at risk, asking himself _what if_ and trying to find a better way to live with the consequences. And there was now an entire family who could blame him for the missing of their son and brother, not to mention what happened to their daughter. She had trusted him and she received pain as a reward.

This all reminded him of why he left the Order and the conditions in which he had to cope with responsibility in the war, only this time it wasn't hundreds of clone troopers but friends and family. There was no running away from this ever, he'd have to live with it no matter how bad it hurt.

Later in the night Ordo and Fi had gone to their wives and he was left with the Zanim's, treating Runa's injuries and letting her sleep in his room since the dormitory was no longer suitable. Seeing Devik's abandoned belongings was also a cause of distress to all of them so he helped Ullia packing them up.

"He always traveled light," she said thoughtfully, "whenever he'd come to visit me he'd leave things behind."

She picked up the black and bronze trimmed helmet and peered at it for a while. Jusik paused feeling his heart sink at her blank expression before she stashed the piece of armor in the carry-all bag.

"We'll find him," he said wanting to sound reassuring. "And he'll try to contact us, sooner or later."

"I know, dear. I believe in my children, they're strong like their father."

When she was done filling up the sack he offered to carry it across the room for her.

"I don't mean to pry," he said, "but what made you divorce Biran?"

"Ah," she sighed with melancholy, "the same reasons why I married him in the first place. He was a good husband and father, but he was still the same man over the years while I made more sacrifices as a mother." She affectively patted his cheek as if she'd scared him. "You seem alright to me, darling."

"I still make mistakes."

"Better now than when you have children depending on your every move." He followed her in the hallway. "That's when you'll have to be the best person you could ever be. But, try not to rush into that too soon, okay? As much as I'd love to have grand-children, Runa could live like a child herself for a little longer."

He stared at the door behind her and knew that they could be heard quite clearly in that room. Thoughts flew through his mind and he couldn't decide what to reply to Ullia and make a statement that mattered at the same time.

"How is she doing?"

"We got her on pain medication, but why don't ask her yourself?"

The room was dark when he entered. Having a house built underground made that there were no windows or viewports to get natural brightness. He reached out for his bed and felt her laying on one side in fetal position, Jusik switched the headlamp on and inspected her face as she woke up, squinting at the light.

"Your eye is looking better," he said, then noticed a stain of blood on his pillows.

"New makeup," she answered weakly. "Are you checking in on me or am I on the wrong side of the mattress…"

He pointed at the blood stains. "Gross."

"What? Oh." She sat up and touched her lips to find where that came from. "With all these pain killers I feel like a giant blob."

"You still have broken bones though. I can make you heal faster if you'd like."

She shook her head. "It's no big deal. Save it for the more serious stuff."

He thought about Fi's condition when he first saw him and as far as _more serious_ went it was bad enough to say there were no chances of survival. Jusik had worked his healing skills on a shape-shifting Gurlanin as well, without knowing anything at all about their anatomy. Each session had been productive, but at a price. Runa's answer was a blessing.

"So, how about I help you sleep through meditative hibernation."

"Sounds barbaric."

He sat on the other side of the bed and took his boots off. "It's actually a way to rest while still being aware of our surroundings, sort of a _stand-by_ mode for the brain. It's practical during hyperspace travels."

"Is that like a coma?"

"No," he chuckled. "It's like sleeping."

"Okay then. I could use that… There are these dead people that I keep seeing again and again. Bodies don't scare me but this… It's making me restless."

That feeling of guilt flared up in him. "Is it because we killed them, or because you couldn't save them?"

Runa brought the blanket up to her shoulders as if to hide. "I don't know I just feel so new to all of this, and anything that goes wrong seems to be my fault."

"We all equally share the responsibility." He knew she wasn't talking about the dead anymore. "But some things are out of our control and you'll learn to deal with it."

He switched the light off and slid under the sheets letting her rest her head on his arm. This wasn't how he'd imagined his first physical contact with a female, especially not the one he was falling for: injured, tired and compelled to provoke slumber using a Jedi technique. The most excruciating in that was keeping a lid on his primal instincts triggered each time he felt aware of her body so close to his.

He stuck his forehead against hers and brushed his hand on her cheek and neck, monitoring her pulse as he began the meditation ritual and she synchronized her breathing with his after a few seconds. Her heart rate was still fairly high, he knew why and it made him agitated.

"Try to relax," he whispered.

"I am relaxed."

"I mean try to _sleep_."

Obviously that wasn't her priority anymore. She was medicated and drowning in a mix of emotions and he couldn't blame her. So he let her wrap herself in his arms and he even let his control down. Because it was pointless holding out on her or saving himself for that "right time" that might never come.

The next morning she stayed in bed while he washed off and got his _beskar_ on. Kal had left him a message that he read on his console and that meant that he knew about the new situation. It was time for a general assembly in order to decide of the next steps for the clan to take.

"What time is it?"

He turned around to see her with the sheet over her head. "Zero seven hundred. You need to get up."

She grumbled and complained before reaching for her clothes on the floor. He caught them for her since the painkillers seemed to have worn off. "How did you sleep?" he asked curious.

"Fine, I guess." She paused, for a long time. "But I think something happened before that, didn't it?"

He smiled and nodded. "We'll have to be more cautious in the future."

"Huh?"

He didn't feel like drawing her the picture; perhaps she hadn't noticed but he wasn't going to take any risks with pregnancy issues and he remembered what her mother told him about grand-children.

"We're using _shields_ next time just so we're clear."

"Oh... _Oh_." She reached out to him so he could sit beside her. "I guess this seals the deal between us."

He would've wanted to skip all of the nervous awkwardness of the moment to just enjoy being around her as who he was now and not the one he was the other day.

"I only regret not doing it any sooner," he said grabbing her knee. "This is _distracting_."

She gave him a wide smile. "I'll keep wearing my _buy'ce_ then."

They kissed and he felt revolted at all the rules and frustrations he'd lived with and realized he was living his own life, he was ready to share it with someone that mattered to him regardless of what was right or wrong.


	12. Chapter 12

**Kyrimorut, Skirata Bastion, 1,328 days ABG**

Runa's definition of a clan until that day was a group of friends and relatives sharing a set of interests and ideals. That was before she actually saw a Mandalorian clan in one place at one time. She couldn't even begin to remember who was whose offspring or sibling, who were married and how many different families there were within the clan. There were many clones of different age and appearance, and she saw a few children running across the rooms. The Skirata home was lively and busy, all she could see were armored as well as unarmored people, humans, twi'leks, kiffar, and a six-legged animal that thrashed around with the children.

"That's Mird, it's a strill trained for mercenary work." Bardan handed her a warm cup of dark liquid that she guessed was tea. "Drink this, you'll feel better."

She had popped another round of painkillers in order to walk comfortably, sadly the side-effects made her nauseous.

"I don't think I'll be able to remember everyone's name…"

A squeaky voice shouted _Pow, pow, pow!_ and Runa felt a small body bumping into her shin plates. The little female Togruta fell on her back, giggled carelessly before getting on her feet to race after her friends again. She was carrying a small blaster made out of a piece of wood.

"Uncle Bardan!"

"Hey you!" He lifted Kad up in his arms and touched foreheads with the boy. "What are you up to,_ Kad'ika_."

"I'm hunting little kids for credits."

Bardan playfully furrowed his brow. "Sounds dangerous, do you need them dead or alive?"

"Alive. I don't want to carry them."

"Well, don't let them get away!"

They watched him run off with Mird in his trail. The lizard-like canine seemed eager to keep an eye on the young as if they were its own. It seemed that everyone and everything was keen on adopting in the _mando_ culture. She gave another thought about what Bardan told her that morning which had made her grateful because she wasn't in a hurry for babies and sad because she would've wanted to see him happy one day. Or, it was her deeply honed reproductive instincts expressing themselves.

The tea was mildly sweet and refreshing, she'd have to find some for herself later on. She watched Bardan go over to a group of men talking in the lobby and they greeted him hand-to-elbow style, ruffling his hair and talking loudly in half basic, half _mando'a_. Runa wandered off to get away from the noise and crowds and maybe find some place to sit down. Someone called out to her and she was surprised that they'd known her name.

"I'm Parja, great to meet you!"

She extended her arm and Runa grabbed it in the _mando_ fashion. The young woman was a little taller and wore long braided hazel hair over her shoulders.

"How do you know me?"

"Fi's my husband and he told me about you. How are you?"

So she knew about the outpost operation. "In one piece," she answered. "Feeling kind of lost and dizzy though."

"This is no usual party," Parja explained. "I think we're going to have to relocate, maybe spread out across the _shabla_ galaxy. But don't get it wrong, it's what we do… Mandalorians were nomads to begin with."

"Hence the big party."

"Yes," she smiled. "By the way, this armor _loves_ you. Who gave it to you?"

She opened her mouth to speak and someone in a blue outfit came into her field of vision.

"Well, well. Isn't it our new addition to the clan." He was tall and dark-skinned, a clone like Ordo, he also had streaks of blond hair and green eyes which she guessed were cosmetics. "My name is Mereel, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Runa Zanim."

He took her hand and bowed to kiss it with exaggerated courtesy.

"Hi," she said in a bland tone. "Everybody seems to know me here."

"We can't help it. Intel travels faster than the winds of Kamino in this family, it can make people uncomfortable. You look like you need comforting, and I can help you with that any day, any time."

She avoided looking at his piercing green gaze and shiny white teeth and her eyes found Bardan who was still talking to his friends. Parja playfully punched Mereel's side.

"Leave the poor girl alone, _Mer'ika_. Besides, she's taken. So… go find yourself a real droid."

The man in blue armor straightened his back to stand a little taller in front of Parja. "Lady Runa doesn't need protection, _I'm_ here now. Go tend to your own droids."

"What's going on here?"

They all turned to Bardan and even Runa was surprised. He arched an eyebrow at Mereel, arms crossed, looking like serious business. He was a head shorter than the clone and Runa never imagined he could irradiate authority that way.

"Just introducing myself to our new friend," Mereel politely said then winked to Runa. "She promised to meet me in my ship tonight."

Parja guffawed and rebuked him with a slap to the back of the head. "He's always like this with the ladies."

"Did you make that pleasure droid for him yet?" Bardan said, still very serious.

"I don't do that kind of _osik_. I'm married."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mereel chuckled.

Parja and him argued about droid and mating mechanisms. In the midst of the laughter Bardan gestured to Runa's cup in a _Are you done with it?_ look and she gave it to him; it was still warm but she couldn't drink any more. He stirred it and sank it down which caught some attention.

"Oh… I see now." Mereel leaned over his shoulder. "Secret language and exchange of fluids. So Parja's right, isn't she?"

The woman grinned with excitement. "_Shab_, wherever you're going, I want in on the wedding ceremony."

Runa felt her cheeks flush. Having her emotions exposed had terrible effects on her and she didn't know how to hide it or to pretend it didn't bother her. Bardan took her hand and meshed his fingers with hers; his presence was soothing.

"We'll keep you posted," he said.

She didn't know how to interpret her feelings about being rescued again - it wasn't like her to rely so much on a person, let alone being sentimental -, yet she felt like clinging to Bardan as an amorous schoolgirl that feared being abandoned. He took her to a more quiet place, a hallway between the kitchen and the bedrooms but there were still no seats for her.

"Just hold on for a little while," he told her softly, "then we'll go home."

"Kal is going to say something soon?" She recalled saying his name in the interrogation room but mentally waved the thought away.

"Before dinner, yes. You have to eat something or you'll pass out."

"If my stomach would cooperate then I'll try." There were sounds of chatter and plates clanking on a wooden table. "Do they know about me and the interrogation?"

Bardan looked over to the kitchen worriedly before shaking his head. "There's very little I can keep them from knowing. For what it's worth, I don't think it really matters to anyone now."

That was going to be her new family and Runa already managed to feel like a burden. "I don't know," she sighed. "Sometimes it feels like I'm not supposed to be here, wearing this suit and messing in your business."

"What makes you feel that way?" he looked at her, lifting her chin up.

She turned the question in her mind over and over again without finding an answer. Pondering about her failures made her eyes brim and she turned away from him because she couldn't hold it any longer. While she cried her chest burned and her left wrist stung all of the sudden, making it harder to control her sobs. There were no cusses she could say to vent her anger, because she was a weak _shabla_ girl.

Bardan sat against the wall next to her and waited with an arm around her shoulders until she calmed herself. She heard a man's voice speaking in the silence of the house but couldn't make anything out of it.

"Let it out, Runa, after what you've been through. And you don't have to be like any of us," Bardan told her, barely audible. "Also… It's who you are that I care about and not who you might be."

She looked up at him and saw tears in his eyes, but he didn't look sad; it dawned on her that he could empathize much more than she thought. He kept his attention turned to Kal's voice, listening in. Runa did her best to be a little stronger and serene: if he felt what she felt then she had to be more careful.

There was a loud cheer of _Oya!_ and chatter rose up again while people moved around the room to begin eating.

He looked back at her like he had made his mind about something and pressed his lips to hers. It was a soft kiss - not the hungry and desperate kind she'd had with previous relationships -, and it made her body react in ways she'd never speak of. Reminiscing her sensuous awakening of the other night temporarily wiped the misery away.

"Let's go home," he said in a breath. "Tomorrow we have to leave for Taris so you'll want to tell your parents, spend the evening with them."

She was about to ask "what about you?" and stopped mid-thought, for as far as she knew Bardan was an orphan so he could run away and never worry about telling anyone.

"Is that where everyone will go?"

He helped her up. "They probably have other plans."

They walked out of Skirata's house waving goodbye to a few people who weren't eating in the dining room. Bardan stopped to hug Kad and to speak with a blue-skinned Twi'lek called Laseema for a few minutes. Their goodbyes were heart-breaking and Runa stood carefully in the background while they did so. She understood that it was a necessary sacrifice, that he had to part ways with those he cared for, and for their own good. From what was gathered after their assault on the outpost the Empire was looking for them actively.

And there was someone _she_ was going to actively look for and that required skill, so maybe she wasn't cut out to do mighty heroics but now that it was possible she was going to get the best help.

"Can't we bring my mother along?" she asked as he drove the land speeder across the hills.

"Don't you think that's up to her?" he replied with a sideways look. He didn't seem to approve.

"I really miss her, maybe I just wish I'd spent more time with her lately."

He remained silent for the next several minutes. Runa liked the idea of having one of her parents close to her because that made her feel at home. It was hard but she came to realize that she wasn't used to traveling and changing homes so often. If being a _mando'ad_ meant that she was to become a nomad then she had a lot of work to do.

Bardan found his voice again. "When we finish some business on Taris we'll find your brother, and you'll be with your family again. How does that sound?"

"It would be great--"

She went mute when she saw him with his eyes closed, still piloting the speeder and she panicked, thinking he fell asleep.

"Bardan…?"

His face went grim as he stared straight ahead. "We got company. _Buy'ce_ on," he instructed as he parked the speeder a few paces behind the homestead.

Runa felt a rush of excitement and animalistic fear as she did as he said and got out in the field, KX-60 slung to her shoulder. She followed Bardan in a jog until they came up to the house; they could see the nose of a black-painted ground vehicle at the front entrance. Bardan had his rifle raised and held it against his chest plate as he turned his T-shaped visor to her.

"Private channel," he said, activating a blinking icon on her blue-lit HUD. "Follow my lead and watch your steps."

Everything looked unreal through the visor, a bit like watching a holovid and not really being there. Runa checked the safety on her rifle again and kept her finger away from the trigger. They proceeded quietly into the bunker from a concealed backdoor then down a ladder where Runa recognized a ventilation exhaust port. It was barely large enough for them to fit through, all armor and weapons attached. They crawled noisily in the durasteel tunnel for about two agonizing minutes; she mentally patted herself on the back once they got out of it because she hadn't thrown up. Bardan raised a closed fist at shoulder level and she instinctively stopped, weapon raised towards the nearest door. They were in a storage room that also kept the main power generator.

"They're here, probably because they need that ship back. Four of them."

"And my parents?"

She gave him a moment to use his Force radar. "They're not here. Let's move."

She hoped they'd had a chance to run away then. Showing her the wall next to the door he took entry position at the opposite and held his rifle one-handed while turning the knob, it was the old kind of door that spun instead of sliding and he looked through the narrow opening before nodding "clear" to her.

The living room was turned upside down with bits of furniture all over the place like some wampa creature had lost the keys to its tauntaun, whatever that meant when she heard the joke. Bardan seemed to pay no mind to it and moved rapidly towards the kitchen, came back and signaled to her in direction of the dormitory. He looked a lot like a special operations soldier now and she smiled to herself because she knew she was his mirror's reflection in white and purple colors. They stopped in the short hallway and he stood back against the wall, threw something in the dorm room that exploded, or Runa thought it did but there was no loud blast, just a pop and a very bright light flashing out.

He stormed in the room with his rifle raised, ready to shoot and she heard someone moaning. The man was trying to pull his white plastoid helmet off when he saw both of them, then fussed with his blaster to aim but Bardan kicked it off his hands, grabbed his throat and threw him against the wall in one move.

"Hands behind your head. And not a word," he hissed and her private channel blinked. "Runa, check the door."

She complied and expected someone to show up in the hallway, finger ready to squeeze the trigger. It felt strange that she could maintain her calm but she did, and listened to what Bardan was saying to the Stormtrooper.

"Who did you come here for?"

No reply. Runa opened her comm to him. "Take his bucket off, he must have a link with his squad."

Bardan did as she said and it revealed a young man with a shaved head and he probably had no scars on him yet.

"Just kill me, I won't talk."

"Tsss, don't be so melodramatic. I'm hunting too, just tell me a name and I'll be out of your hair."

Something made Runa's skin shiver although her suit was isolating enough, but apparently not against painful memories. There were footsteps that could be heard coming their way so she braced herself and took a few steps away from the door.

"Traitors to the Empire," the young soldier spat. "You could be on that list if you keep aiming that gun at my face."

"It's a _very_ nice gun though," Bardan proudly replied. "Now tell your friends to stand down or I'm gonna say to your commander that you went AWOL."

The soldier did a terrible job at hiding his stunned reaction. "You wouldn't…"

Bardan picked up his helmet and looked inside. "Looks like I got clearance already."

Two, then three white-clad troopers appeared in the room, blasters aimed. Runa stepped back so they could see that they were keeping their friend hostage and took one of them in her sights.

"Stop!" the kneeling trooper yelled. "Don't shoot or we're finished."

They looked at each other's masked faces for a confused couple of seconds.

"You're outnumbered," shouted one, "surrender and you won't be harmed."

Bardan let his arms hang at his sides and made a point of sticking the muzzle of his Verp against the hostage's head. "Look what I did to your squad leader and say that again."

"They're bounty hunters," muttered the subdued soldier. "They'll stop at nothing for credits."

Something bleeped and flashed inside Runa's HUD: the comlink had received new messages. She tried not to get distracted. One Stormtrooper looked at her, then at Bardan and let his guard down.

"This mission is _kriffed_."

"What are you doing?" said the shouter.

The laid-back trooper holstered his E-11 and folded his arms across his breastplate. "These guys are getting_ paid _by our commanders. It makes me sick."

The two other soldiers persisted in gaining control over the situation but they seemed clearly disconcerted now. Runa had to applaud Bardan's plan even if it was shaky to begin with.

"We're on even grounds now," he said, but she could hear him sighing. "Who are you after?"

"Skirata and Jusik," answered Laid-Back. "Our intel brought us here and it looks like their headquarters."

"Except that we don't need to share that with _them_," continued Shouter. "What are you thinking, that they'll split the bounty with us?"

"I don't know but I'm ready to take my chances."

Bardan looked back and forth at them and seemed to lose patience.

"_Fierfek_, you guys are a waste of time. The cargo ain't _here_, that means they already left the _shabla_ system." He took the squad leader's arm and pulled him to his feet single-handedly, and gave him his helmet back. "And next time you do recce in a building make sure you look out for lone-wolf-squad-genius here. Because he won't be watching your six."

"That's kind of rude," hesitantly commented the quiet one.

Runa failed to contain a giggle and they all turned their helmets towards her.

"What?" she said. "That's funny."

Squad Leader pushed his helmet back on his head and picked his blaster up. "What kind of bounty hunters are you?"

Bardan directed them to the door and followed them outside. Runa noted that none of the troopers really turned their backs to them.

"The _caring_ kind," he answered.

The ground vehicle they used had a laser turret on its roof and not much room inside. Squad Leader and Shouter got in while Quiet manned the turret. Laid-Back stayed outside and leaned slightly over to Runa.

"So how often do you drop by on this rock? I'll be stationed here for another tour and--"

"Hey," barked Bardan. "Why don't you save the charm for your superiors."

"--and you can comm me anytime." He flicked a small object to her that she nearly missed. It was a secure data chip for comlinks.

He got shoved in the tanker by an apparently annoyed Bardan and Laid-Back just laughed it off. The black vehicle headed out to the horizon and Runa caught herself wondering what he looked like under the ugly white helmet. She thoughtfully turned the chip around her fingers.

"Aw, come on. Tell me you're just playing…"

"I always had a weak spot for soldiers," she smirked. "And who knows, one day I might meet one that would turn out to be Devik."

She cautiously stashed the chip in a belt pouch and turned her attention to the messages she'd received earlier. The first one was from her mother.

IT'S NOT SAFE ANYMORE. HEADING BACK TO ORD MANTELL WITH YOUR FATHER AND WE'LL CONTACT YOU SOON.

She exhaled in relief. She opened the next and her heart jumped.

I'M IN CARIDA AND I'M OK. THE WEATHER IS NICE, THE FOOD IS GOOD AND THERE ARE NO WOMEN AT ALL.

"Why are you laughing now?"

She sat next to Bardan in the Aggressor's cockpit, pulled her _buy'ce_ off and brushed wild locks of hair from her face.

"Devik is okay."

"That's great news," he said with a warm smile. "And your parents?"

"They're safe back home."

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, thinking of nothing and letting her mind float with the sound of the engines coming to life.

"Strap yourself in," advised Bardan. "You're taking this baby off this rock."

*

TO BE CONTINUED.

______________________________________________

_Thanks for reading and commenting! The next episode is called "More Than Blood", make sure you don't miss it :)  
_


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